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"""'AV','*y<*«^«'*<^''"<<'"*«*<'t<''>'**< 11)11  f MM milium 


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THE    HIDDEN    LIFE. 


f^ougljts  mi  Siomnumion  toitlj  iob. 


REV.  ADOLPH  SAPHIR. 

AUTHOR    OF 

'  EXPOSITORY    LECTURES   ON    THE    EPISTLE   TO   THE    HEBREWS,' 

"the    life   of    faith,"    ETC. 


NEW  YORK: 
ROBERT    CARTER    AND    BROTHERS, 

530,     BROADWAY. 
All  rights  reserved. 


PREFACE. 


nPHE  following  pages,  with  the  exception  of 
chapters  v.,  vi.,  and  xi.,  contain  the  sub- 
stance of  addresses,  given  in  the  ordinary  course 
of  congregational  ministration,  on  James  iv.  8, 
"  Draw  nigh  to  God,  and  He  will  draw  nigh 
to  you."  I  have  endeavoured  to  offer  a  few 
elementary  thoughts  on  the  great  subject  of 
the  Christian's  hidden  life,  and  to  describe  the 
experienced  reality  of  revelation  and  of  prayer, 
or  of  communion  with  God. 

Much  is  said  and  written  in  the  present  day 
in  defence  of  truth  against  the  attacks  of  un- 
belief and  doubt ;  much  also  in  the  way  of 
appeal  and  invitation  to  those  who  are  still 
strangers  to  the  enjoyment  of  Christ's  peace. 
While  fully  admitting  the  necessity  and  im- 
portance of  both  these  aspects,  the  apologetic 
and  the  evangelistic,  we  may  yet  regard  as  of 
still  greater  importance  the  unfolding  of  Scrip- 


iv  Preface. 

ture  itself,  the  testimony  of  the  reahty  of  the 
things  which  are  freely  given  to  us  of  God  in 
Christ,  and  by  the  Spirit.  It  is  right  to  guard 
the  house  against  the  attacks  of  foes,  or  rather 
to  point  out  the  strength  and  security  of  the 
divinely-laid  foundation.  It  is  also  right  to 
point  out  the  gate  wide  and  open,  and  to  declare 
to  all  the  freeness  and  fulness  of  divine  grace. 
But  to  describe  the  home  itself,  the  inner 
sanctuary,  seems  to  be  more  essential,  and  also 
more  in  accordance  with  the  practice  of  the 
apostles,  who  declared  the  whole  counsel  of 
God,  and  regarded  the  preaching  of  the  gospel, 
in  its  fulness,  and  with  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  as  at  once  the  great  argument  to  con- 
vince, and  the  great  attraction  to  persuade.  I 
have  endeavoured  to  point  out  in  chapters  v. 
and  vi.  what  I  regard  as  the  Scripture  method 
of  defence  of  revelation  and  pra)cr. 

When  we  meditate  on  the  hidden  life,  we 
realize  the  substantial  unity  of  all  who  believe 
in  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  love 
of  God,  and  the  communion  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
We  are  often  astonished  that  Christians  hold 
doctrinal  views  which  appear  to  us  to  be  in- 
consistent with  some  vital  truth,  or  that  they 


Preface.  v 

are  able  to  live  in  communions  or  churches 
with  which  we  could  not  feel  at  liberty  to  be 
connected.  But  however  perplexing  this  may 
be,  we  know  that  none  can  call  Jesus  Lord  but 
by  the  Holy  Ghost;  and  when  we  are  brought 
most  fully  and  deeply  into  communion  with 
Christ,  in  seasons  of  great  soul-trial  or  spiritual 
elevation,  we  feel  most  clearl}^  and  strongly  that 
there  is  one  spirit  which  unites  all  who  love 
the  Lord  Jesus,  and  who  have  experienced  the 
power  and  sweetness  of  divine  grace.  Our 
want  of  union  and  brotherly  love  arises,  it 
seems  to  me,  not  from  attaching  too  much  im- 
portance to  the  points  in  which  we  differ,  but 
from  our  not  beholding  clearly  enough,  and  our 
not  realizing  sufficiently  the  magnitude  of  the 
fundamental  truth,  held  by  all  Christians,  God 
ina7iifest  in  the  Jlesh. 

Hoping  that  these  simple  pages  may,  by 
God's  blessing,  prove  helpful  to  some  believers 
and  seekers,  I  conclude  with  the  words  of  an 
old  author,  applicable  to  hearer  as  well  as 
teacher :  "  It  is  a  cold,  lifeless  thing  to  speak  of 
spiritual  things  upon  mere  report ;  but  they 
that  speak  of  them  as  their  own,  as  having 
share  or  interest  in  them,  and  some  experience 


vi  Preface. 

of  their  sweetness,  their  discourse  is  enhvened 
with  firm  behef  and  ardent  affection  ;  they  can- 
not mention  them  (or  hear  of  them)  but  their 
hearts  are  straight  taken  with  such  gladness  as 
they  are  forced  to  vent  in  praises."^ 


A.   S. 


'  Archbishop  Leighton. 


Trinity  Presbyterian  Church, 
NoTTiNG  Hill, 

February,    1877. 


CONTENTS 


©!)a})ttr  5. 


THE   OPEN   SECRET 


Page 
I 


Chapter  55. 

SINCERITY  IN   DRAWING   NEAR  TO   GOD 

©iiaptrr  555. 

ENCOURAGEMENTS   TO   PRAYER 


31 


58 


eiiapter  5F. 


THE   FULFILMENT   OF   THE   PROMISE 


.  82 


THE  EXPERIENCED   REALITY  OF   REVELATION 


105 


©fiaptfr  V\. 

THE  EXPERIENCED  REALITY  OF   PRAYER 


127 


viii  Contents. 

Ci)apttr  FH-. 

Page 
GOD    DRAWS    XIGH    IN    CONSOLATION         .  ...       I52 

ffi!)aptcr  T7m. 

IF    GOD    BE    FOR    US   .  .  .  .  .  .       I73 

ejjaptfr  IX 

COMMUNION    WITH   GOD    IN    DAILY    LIFE  .  .  .       I98 

eJiapter  X. 

THE  INDWELLING  OF  GOD  BY  LOVE  AND  BY  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT    .       228 

ef)aptfv  XJ-. 

WITH   JESUS,    NOW   AND    FOR   EVER  .  .  .  .       259 


THE    HIDDEN    LIFE. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE     OPEN     SECRET. 

"  Draw  nigh  to  God,  and  He  will  draw  fiigh  to  yoii" 
James  iv.  8, 

ivy  OT  every  mystic  Is  a  Christian,  but  every 
^  ^    Christian  Is  a  mystic.^ 

There  Is  a  hidden  wisdom.  The  apostle  Paul 
writes:  "We  speak  wisdom  among  them  that 
are  perfect :  yet  not  the  wisdom  of  this  world, 
nor  of  the  princes  of  this  world,  that  come  to 
nought :  but  we  speak  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a 
mystery,  even  the  hidden  wisdom,  which  God 
ordained  before  the  world  unto  our  glory."  ^ 
The  secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear 
Him.     In    the    hidden    centre   of  their   being' 

o 

God    makes    them   to    know   wisdom.^     They 

'  See  note,  page  27.        ^  i  Cor.  ii.  6,  7.        3  pg.  H.  6. 
B 


The  Open  Secret. 


have  an  unction  from  above,  which  teacheth 
them  of  all  things,  and  is  truth. ^  "  Knowest 
thou  where  wisdom  is  found  ?  and  where  is  the 
place  of  understanding  ?  .  .  .  The  depth  saith, 
It  is  not  in  me  :  and  the  sea  saith,  It  is  not 
with  me."^  But  Jesus  declares  that  the  Father 
hath  revealed  it  unto  babes/ 

There  is  a  hidden  glory.  It  Is  manifested,'' 
and  yet  only  faith  can  behold  it.  Jesus  changed 
the  water  into  wine  at  the  marriage  of  Cana, 
and  showed  forth  His  glory.  Men  saw,  and 
yet  did  not  see  ;  but  His  disciples  believed  in 
Him. ^  Jesus  raised  Lazarus  from  the  grave. 
There  were  many  witnesses  ;  yet  only  they  who 
beHeved  saw  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  Son  of 
God  glorified.^  The  glory  of  God  is  beheld 
by  faith  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ  ;^  and  Jesus 
Christ  is  known  only  by  those  who  know  the 
mystery  of  His  cross  and  resurrection,^  and  are 
waiting;  to  be  orlorified  together  with  Him.^ 

There  is  a  hidden  life,  far,  far  away — high, 
high  above.  It  is  life  hid  with  Christ  in  God — 
life  born  out  of  death  ;  as  it  is  written,  "  For  ye 
have  died,  and  your  life  is  hid."^     It  is  myste- 

1  2  John  ii.  27.         5  Job  xxviii.  12,  14.  *  Matt.  xi.  25. 

7  The  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed.  (Isa.  xl.  5.) 

^  John  ii.  II.  5  John  xi.  4,  40.  '  2  Cor.  iii. 

Phil.  iii.  10.  3  Rom.  viii.  17.  *  Col.  iii.  3. 


The  Open  Secret. 


rious  in  its  commencement.  "The  wind  bloweth 
where  it  Hsteth,  and  thou  hearest  the  sound 
thereof,  but  canst  not  tell  whence  it  cometh, 
and  whither  it  goeth  :  so  is  every  one  that  is 
born  of  the  Spirit."^  It  is  mysterious  in  its 
progress  :  "  I  live  ;  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth 
in  me."^  It  is  mysterious  in  its  consummation — 
the  marriage  of  the  Lamb/  We  shall  be  tor 
ever  with  the  Lord. 

There  is  a  hidden  manna.  We  have  meat 
to  eat  that  the  world  knows  not  of.^  "  There 
is  an  unseen  river,  the  streams  whereof  make 
glad  the  city  of  God."^  Only  God's  children 
see  it,  and  know  the  Source  whence  it  cometh, 
and  the  Ocean  whither  It  is  flowing. 

It  is  impossible  to  deny  the  mystical  charac- 
ter of  Christianity  when  we  consider  such  pas- 
sages as  these  :  "  If  a  man  love  Me,  he  will 
keep  my  words  :  and  my  Father  will  love  him, 
and  we  will  come  unto  him,  and  make  our 
abode  with  him."  "Christ  will  manifest  Him- 
self unto  us,  and  not  unto  the  world."  "  They 
are  not  of  the  world,  even  as  I  am  not  of  the 
world,"  "  The  natural  man  receiveth  not  the 
things  of  the  Spirit  of  God."  "  Christ  dwelleth 
in    the   heart   by    faith."     "  I    labour,    striving 

5  John  iii.  8.  *  Gal.  ii.  20.  ^  Rev.  xix.  7,  9. 

^  John  iv.  32.  9  Ps.  xlvi,  4  ;  Rev.  xxii.  i. 


The  Open  Secret. 


according  to  His  working,  which  worketh  in 
me  mightily."^ 

If  we  know  these  hidden  things,  then  are  we 
ourselves  hidden  ones,  who  shall  be  made  mani- 
fest when  Christ,  who  is  our  Life,  shall  appear. 
Of  this  hidden  life  these  pages  treat.  The 
soul  draws  nigh  to  God  ;  God  draws  nigh  to 
the  soul :  the  result  is  communion  with  God. 
This  is  the  simplest,  the  most  elementary  aspect 
of  the  hidden  life ;  and  it  addresses  itself  to 
all.  For  although  wisdom  is  justified  only  of 
her  children,  although  they  only  hear  and  under- 
stand her  voice,  yet  wisdom  speaks  to  all  the 
words  of  light  and  love  :  *'  He  that  hath  ears, 
let  him  hear."  Different  from  the  exclusiveness 
of  human  wisdom  is  the  Divine  Teacher :  He 
welcomes  the  simple  and  the  sinful,  babes  and 
little  children,  and  all  who  are  bowed  down  with 
sorrow,  and  oppressed  with  darkness  and  the 
shadow  of  death. 

"  Drawing  nigh  to  God  "  is  the  most  compre- 
hensive expression  to  describe  the  soul's  attitude 

'  Especially  the  doctrine  of  grace,  held  to  be  fundamental  in 
evangelical  churches,  has  a  mystical  character;  for  it  maintains 
that  grace,  and  not  nature,  is  the  source  of  all  our  good 
thoughts,  words,  and  works.  "  If  I  could  obey  in  all  things,  yet 
that  would  not  satisfy  me,  unless  I  felt  obedience  flow  from  the 
birth  of  His  life  in  me.  '  My  Father  doeth  all  things  in  Me,' 
saith  Christ.  This  was  Christ's  comfort ;  and  to  feel  Christ  do 
all  in  the  soul,  is  the  comfort  of  one  that  truly  believeth  on  Him." 


The  Open  Secret. 


toward  God.  Prayer  is  the  culminating-  point 
of  this  attitude.  If  we  rightly  view  prayer,  it 
embraces  our  whole  life,  our  thought  and  feeling, 
our  will  and  work,  our  conflict  and  rest.  "  Draw- 
ine  nieh  to  God  "  describes  the  character  of  the 
Christian's  life.  In  the  meditation  of  our  hearts, 
in  the  desires  of  our  soul,  in  the  activities  and 
enjoyments  of  our  daily  path,  we  approach 
God  ;  for  we  wish  to  live  before  Him,  conscious 
of  His  presence,  in  constant  dependence  and 
in  constant  enjoyment  of  His  grace.  And  "  God 
drawing  nigh  to  us  "  is  the  most  comprehensive 
expression  to  describe  God's  dealings  with  us. 
The  Word,  or  the  Scripture,  is  the  great,  and 
in  many  respects  the  unique,  channel  of  God's 
communications  to  the  soul ;  or  rather  it  is  cen- 
tral, round  which  all  other  divine  influences 
gather.  Scripture  is  the  divine  revelation  in  a 
special  sense,  but  so  that  it  connects  itself  with 
all  other  manifestations  of  God  to  the  soul,  be 
they  in  Nature  or  Providence,  or  by  the  direct 
influence  of  the  Spirit. 

Hence  the  advice,  which  is  a  household 
word  among  Christians,  that  prayer  and  the 
reading  of  Scripture  are  the  great  means  of 
sustaining  and  nourishing  the  inner  life,  is  per- 
fectly correct,  if  it  is  understood  in  a  spiritual 
and   not  a  mechanical  manner,  if  prayer  and 


The  Open  Secret. 


Scripture  are  viewed,  not  as  isolated  powers, 
but  as  central  and  culminating  points. 

There  is  no  safety  in  distance  from  God.  If 
we  take  the  wingfs  of  the  morning  and  dwell 
in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea,  we  cannot  go 
from  God's  Spirit,  nor  flee  from  His  presence. 
Fear  of  a  guilty  conscience  seeks  a  hiding-place; 
but  where  can  we  escape  the  eye  of  Omniscience, 
or  shield  ourselves  against  the  anger  of  our  holy 
God? 

There  is  only  one  hiding-place,  even  God 
Himself.  The  only  safe  place  for  helpless  and 
sinful  men  is  close  to  God — in  the  arms  of  the 
Father,  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  the  Friend  of 
sinners,  once  crucified  and  now  exalted,  to  give 
repentance  and  the  remission  of  sins.  Come  to 
Jesus,  and  thou  art  in  the  secret  place  of  the 
Most  High,  where  no  evil  can  befall  thee,  nor 
any  plague  come  nigh  thy  dwelling.  There  is 
no  condemnation  to  them  which  are  in  Christ 
Jesus.  The  Lord  has  forgiven  all  our  trans- 
gressions, and  will  remember  our  sins  no  more. 
There  is  no  life,  or  light,  or  love  in  distance  from 
God.  Even  if  man  had  not  fallen,  his  only 
happiness  and  strength  would  have  been  in 
constant  dependence  on  God  and  communion 
with  Him.  In  Paradise  sinless  Adam  lived  by 
faith  in  God.     It  was  in  God's  lio^ht  that  he 


The  Open  Secret. 


saw  light,  and  in  receiving  constantly  the  bright 
and  blessed  influence  of  divine  love,  his  spirit 
rejoiced  and  was  strong  in  God.  No  creature 
is  good  in  itself ;  no  creature  has  within  itself  a 
fountain  of  life  and  of  blessedness ;  no  creature 
has  even  committed  to  its  care  a  treasure  of 
strength  and  goodness  ;  but  with  God  is  the 
fountain  of  life.  Constantly  beholding  the  coun- 
tenance of  the  Father  in  heaven,  angels  and 
saints  are  upheld  by  divine  love,  and  replenished 
out  of  the  divine  fulness. 

Now  that  sin  has  entered,  no  effort  on  man's 
part  can  ever  bring  him  nigh  to  God.  Sin 
has  so  clouded  and  darkened  the  mind,  that 
man  cannot  rise  to  the  spiritual  idea  of  God  ; 
he  is  always  changing  the  glory  of  God  into 
the  similitude  and  shadowy  image  of  the  crea- 
turely.  Jesus  is  the  Image  of  the  invisible 
God,  and  in  Him  all  previous  revelations  of 
the  Name  find  their  ultimate  and  perfect  ful- 
filment. No  human  effort  could  have  removed 
sin  as  the  obstacle  between  God  and  us.  In 
Jesus  is  both  deliverance  from  guilt  and  the 
source  of  renewal.  God  was  in  Christ.  In  the 
Incarnation,  death,  resurrection,  and  the  sending 
forth  of  the  Holy  Ghost  from  the  Father, 
through  the  glorified  humanity  of  His  Son, 
there  is  the  most  perfect  fulfilment  of  the  great 


The  Open  Secret, 


problem,  How  can  fallen  man  be  brought  nigh 
to  God  ?  how  can  God  dwell  among  and  within 
men  ?  Jesus  is  the  way — the  way  of  God  to 
man,  the  way  of  man  to  God.  In  Jesus  man 
finds  God  the  Father ;  in  Jesus  God  finds  the 
lost  sheep.  Man  finds  in  Jesus  God,  to  have 
God  as  his  portion  ;  God  finds  in  Jesus  man,  to 
be  His  portion  for  evermore. 

Blessed  be  God,  He  has  brought  us  nigh 
to  Himself.  We  adore  the  great  mystery  of 
godliness,  God  manifest  in  the  flesh.  We  re- 
joice with  the  joy  of  broken  and  healed,  of 
contrite  and  comforted  hearts,  because  Jesus 
loved  us,  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  His 
own  blood,  and  brought  us  near  to  God,  into 
the  Holy  of  Holies — a  royal  priesthood.  We 
give  thanks  for  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in 
whom  we  now  worship  the  Father,  and  by 
whom  the  light  and  life  has  been  kindled  within 
our  hearts.  Herein  is  love,  that,  notwithstanding 
our  sin,  God  has  brought  us  nigh  unto  Himself. 
More  wonderful  and  glorious  than  angelic  purity 
or  the  innocence  of  Paradise  is  the  divine  right- 
eousness  in  which  we  now  stand  before  God  ; 
and  high  above  all  hopes  and  thoughts  of  the 
human  heart  are  our  union  with  the  Incarnate 
Son  of  God,  and  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  our  souls. 


The  Open  Secret. 


"  Draw  nigh  to  God,  and  He  will  draw  nigh 
to  you."  The  word  sounds  like  a  precept,  and 
yet  is  all  promise.  At  first  sight  the  words 
have  a  somewhat  legal  air,  and  they  who  do 
not  understand  the  deep  gospel -spirituality  of 
this  epistle  might  for  a  moment  imagine  that 
this  exhortation  does  not  proceed  out  of  the 
full  and  livinof  consciousness  of  orrace,  and  that 
it  implies  the  thought  that  man  by  his  own 
will  and  exertion  can  draw  nigh  to  God,  who  is 
high  above,  and  by  reason  of  our  sin  far  away. 
If  James  required  this  of  us,  he  would  ask  not 
merely  what  is  unevangelical,  but  impossible. 
Only  attempt  to  effect  nearness  to  God  by  your 
own  exertions,  when  He  has  departed  from  you. 
Give  yourselves  all  possible  trouble,  you  cannot 
attain  and  compel  it.  We  enjoy  His  presence, 
then,  only  when  He  comes  of  His  own  accord  ; 
this  most  precious  of  all  gifts  none  can  take  to 
himself.'^ 

If  it  be  asked  which  comes  first,  our  approach 
to  God,  or  God's  approach  to  us,  the  answer  is 
evident.  Does  not  this  very  call  of  God,  Draw 
nigh,  prove  that  God  in  His  spontaneous  and 
boundless  love  begins,  that  in  His  condescend- 
ing grace  He  takes  the  initiative,  that  He 
draws  us  first  by  His  voice  and  by  His  Spirit  ? 

^  ROTHE,  Prediglen,  vol.  iii.  p.  213. 


lo  The  Open  Secret. 

Have  we  chosen  Him,  or  has  He  chosen  us  ? 
Has  He  not  loved  us  with  an  everlasting  love, 
and  is  not  this  the  blessed  source  of  His  draw- 
ing us  with  loving-kindness  ?  All  things  are  of 
God.  He  who  was  in  Christ  reconcilino-  the 
world  unto  Himself  has  created  us  anew  in 
Christ  Jesus;  He  who  has  made  Christ  to  be 
wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification,  and  re- 
demption, has  also  grafted  us  into  the  living 
Vine.  "It  is  not  of  him  that  willeth,  nor  of  him 
that  runneth,  but  of  God  that  showeth  mercy. "^ 

It  is  therefore  right  to  say  that  we  must  wait 
on  God  ;  but  waiting  on  God  is  not  in  apathy 
and  indifference  ;  it  implies  intense  activity. 

God  draws  the  heart,  and  the  result  is  the 
desire  of  the  heart  to  draw  nigh  to  God.  God 
works  in  us,  but  His  work  in  us  is  to  will.  He 
delivers  us  from  bondage  and  apathy;  He 
reveals  Himself  to  us  as  the  living,  loving  God  ; 
He  breaks  the  fetters  of  dead  fatalism  ;  so  that 
instead  of  dreaming  of  an  abstract  and  frigid 
necessity,  we  behold  the  God  and  Father  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  hear  His  voice, 
"  Return  unto  Me  !  "  We  are  no  longer  in  the 
Arctic  regions  of  fatalism ;  but  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness  shines  on  us,  and  we  are  free. 

3  John  XV.  1 6 ;  Jer.  xxi.  3  ;  2  Cor.  v.  18  ;  i  Cor.  i.  30 ;  Rom. 
ix.  16. 


The  Open  Secret.  1 1 

The  heart  responds  to  the  Hving  God.  We 
will,  and  our  face  is  set  toward  heaven.  Draw- 
ing nigh  to  God  is  the  most  concentrated  energy 
of  the  soul ;  we  are  no  longer  passive,  quiescent, 
but,  quickened  by  the  Spirit,  we  are  all  desire, 
longing,  and  eager  expectation  ;  we  wait  more 
than  they  that  wait  for  the  morning ;  we  are 
conscious  of  our  utter  dependence  on  mercy,  of 
our  helplessness,  of  our  sin  and  misery  ;  the 
heart  is  broken  and  contrite,  and  yet  filled  with 
a  new  and  sweet  hope  ;  for  we  feel  that  though 
with  man  it  is  impossible,  with  God  all  things 
are  possible. "*' 

When  we  speak  of  this  influence  of  divine 
grace,  of  the  new  birth,  our  testimony,  although 
abundantly  proved  and  illustrated  in  Scripture, 
and  although  it  flows  from  our  own  experience, 
meets  not  only  with  objections  from  opponents, 
but  some  who  are  sincerely  seeking  truth  see 
in  this  doctrine  grreat  and  discouraorino-  diffl- 
culties.  Our  object  is  not  to  preach  '  regenera- 
tion,' but  to  preach  Christ ;  and  no  difficulty  of 
doctrine,  or  apparent  contradiction  of  doctrines, 

■*  In  the  parable  of  the  prodigal,  the  repentance  of  the  son 
is  represented  in  its  tnanifestation.  He  came  to  himself,  he 
said,  he  willed,  he  arose.  The  secret  source  of  this  repentance 
is  not  mentioned— the  mysterious  drawing  of  the  Father,  and 
the  influence  of  tlie  Holy  Ghost.  The  pedagogic  wisdom  of 
this  silence  is  easily  discerned. 


12  The  Open  Secret. 

can  ever  come  between  the  voice  of  God,  the 
call  of  Jesus,  and  the  sinner  needing-  salvation. 
The  response  of  the  heart  is  to  be  given,  not  to 
the  gospel,  but  to  God,  who  sends  the  testimony 
that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  and  that  eternal  life  is 
in  Him.  Not  until  the  heart  is  thus  brought 
into  contact  with  Him  who  says,  "  Draw  nigh 
to  Me,"  is  the  gospel-message  truly  heard. 

In  a  country  where  Christian  truth  is  con- 
stantly explained,  there  are  many  who  possess 
an  intellectual  knowledge  of  doctrine,  who  yet 
have  not  obeyed  the  call  of  God.  Their  half- 
knowledge  of  truth,  which  can  only  be  fully  and 
correctly  understood  by  believers,  often  makes 
it  difficult  for  them  to  understand  the  simplicity 
of  the  gospel.  And  in  their  position  much 
humility  and  self-distrust  will  be  needed  to  keep 
them  from  cavilling  and  opposing  difficulties. 
The  woman  of  Samaria,  the  Ethiopian  eunuch, 
the  gaoler  of  Philippi,  and  countless  multitudes 
have  turned  to  God  in  Christ,  simply  on  hearing 
God's  message  concerning  His  Son.  They  were 
born  again,  not  by  understanding  the  doctrine 
of  regeneration,  but  by  hearing  the  voice  of 
God. 

When  our  Lord  spoke  to  Nicodemus,  He 
first  showed  him  how  great  a  matter  salvation 
was.  how  difficult  and  above  the  reach  of  man, 


The  Open  Secret.  13 

in  order  then  to  declare  unto  him  how  easy 
salvation  was,  how  God  in  His  love  and  by  the 
sacrifice  of  His  Son  gave  eternal  life  to  who- 
soever believeth  in  Jesus.  The  Spirit  of  God, 
of  whom  Jesus  spoke  in  the  first  part  of  His 
discourse,  is  not  mentioned  in  the  second.  And 
why  }  Because  when  man  is  convinced  of  his 
sin,  guilt,  and  helplessness,  the  Spirit  of  God 
enables  him  to  hear  the  voice  of  God  :  "  Behold 
Jesus  !  Draw  nigh  to  Me  !  "  The  sinner,  who 
has  given  up  looking  iiito  himself  for  anything 
good  or  strong,  out  of  which  the  new  life  is  to 
develop,  looks  now  away  from  himself  unto 
God. 

Say  not  the  message,  "Ye  must  be  born 
again,"  leaves  us  to  hopeless  inactivity.  It  is 
the  message  of  Him  who  says,  "  Look  unto 
Me,  and  be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends  of  the  earth." 
It  is  addressed  to  those  who,  seeking  to  save 
and  to  renew  themselves,  can  find  no  peace,  no 
help,  and  it  points  them  to  God,  to  the  Spirit, 
the  giver  of  life.  And,  going  still  lower,  it  is 
addressed  to  those  who  do  not  as  yet  know 
that  what  they  need  is  grace,  not  merely  to 
pardon,  but  to  renew.  Where  sin  is  truly  felt, 
the  necessity  of  life  from  above  is  also  realized. 
It  is  the  shallow  view  of  sin  which  fancies  the 
possibility  of  self-renewal. 


14  The  Open  Secret. 

But  If  you  ask  the  Christian,  who  by  God's 
grace  has  drawn  nigh,  to  describe  his  experience, 
if  you  expect  a  logical  and  even  chronological 
account  of  this  supernatural  and  central  change, 
his  answer  will  be  :  I  am  most  distinctly  con- 
scious of  the  fact  of  the  new  birth,  I  can 
distinguish  between  the  highest  and  purest 
emotions,  the  most  unselfish  and  o-enerous  acts 
of  my  natural  state  and  of  my  old  nature,  and 
the  new  life  by  faith  in  Christ.  I  know  that 
what  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh,  and  what  is 
born  of  the  Spirit  is  spirit.  Christ  dwells  in 
my  heart  by  faith  ;  the  Spirit  of  God  is  in  me. 
To  be  spiritually-minded  is  life  and  peace.  Even 
the  word  of  God,  which  I  knew  and  admired, 
reverenced  and  loved,  was  formerly  outside  me, 
but  now  it  dwells  within  me.  But  if  you  ask 
how  and  when  I  was  born  again,  I  answer, 
Jesus  Himself  says  that  man  cannot  tell.  "The 
wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth,  and  thou  hearest 
the  sound  thereof,  but  canst  not  tell  whence  it 
Cometh,  and  whither  it  goeth."  Is  not  the 
beginning  of  all  life  concealed  in  sacred  and 
mysterious  darkness  ?  And  can  we  expect  to 
analyse  this  most  wonderful  of  all  creations  ? 
And  when  this  change  is  compared  to  a  birth, 
does  not  this  very  comparison  point  to  a  still 
more  hidden  commencement  of  life,  known  only 


The  Open  Secret.  15 

to  the  Spirit  of  God  ?  I  may  remember  the 
culminating  point  of  decision,  the  efflorescence 
of  the  bud,  when  the  heart  says,  I  will  draw 
nigh  !  or  the  first  conscious  reception  of  vivi- 
fying truth  ;  but  I  am  not  anxious  even  about 
this,  nor  does  it  belong  to  the  '  reason '  which 
I  am  exhorted  to  be  able  to  give  to  all  who  ask 
me.  The  Lord  draws  nigh  to  the  heart,  and 
creates  it  anew.  It  is  a  miracle  of  grace,  and, 
like  all  miracles,  we  see  not  the  process  itself, 
but  its  effect.  Once  we  were  dead,  now  we 
live  ;  once  we  were  blind,  now  we  see.  Jesus, 
the  crucified  Saviour,  according  to  His  promise, 
has  drawn  us  unto  Himself. 

And  in  this  divine  change  we  were  set  free. 
Here  is  no  compulsion,  but  the  very  reverse 
of  it,  emancipation  ;  no  limiting  or  altering  of 
our  individuality,  but  in  the  strictest  sense  of 
the  word  the  commencement  of  a  life  personal 
(or  as  Scripture  expresses  it.  He  called  us  by 
name),  restoration  into  the  original  divine  idea 
of  our  being.  If  it  appears  to  men  otherwise, 
it  is  because  they  forget  that  it  belongs  to  the 
very  idea  and  nature  of  man  to  be  in  com- 
munion with  God,  in  constant  dependence  on 
Him,  in  the  conscious  and  rejoicing  receiving 
out  of  His  fulness.  When  God  works  both  to 
will   and   to  do,  then  begins   our  true   human 


1 6  The  Open  Secret. 

existence,  our  real  God-intended  individuality, 
our  sweet  and  dearly-bought  freedom/ 

The  most  comforting  doctrines  of  grace,  and 
specially  of  the  work  of  the  Spirit,  are  often 
changed  into  difficulties,  obstructing  the  soul's 
drawing  nigh  to  God,  and  into  excuses^  for 
continuing  passive.  This  arises  from  disobe- 
dience to  God,  who  calls ;  from  averting  the 
eyes,  which  ought  to  be  directed  to  God  in 
Christ,  and  which  busies  itself  in  introspection, 
nay,  the  attempt  of  eye-inspection.  Men  turn 
to  the  philosophy  of  looking,  to  the  analysis  of 
the  required  act  of  turning  unto  God.  They 
do  not  realize  that  they  are  called  by  the  living 
voice  ;  that  they  have  not  to  deal  with  doctrines, 
but  with  God.     But  what  is  the  experience  of 

5  The  following  remarks  are  from  an  American  author :  "  The 
soul  only,  when  divinely  influenced,  receives  its  power.  Our 
faculties,  like  the  eye  that  must  be  filled  with  light  from  without, 
wait  for  their  power  from  above.  It  is  the  divine  energy,  acting 
through  the  human  faculty,  that  gives  to  man  his  real  existence. 
Nor  does  any  man  know  his  power,  his  nature,  his  richness 
of  emotion,  the  height  and  depth  of  his  being,  until  he  unfolds 
under  the  influence  of  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God. 

"That  we  are  bound  to  God  is  as  great  a  restriction  of  our 
liberty,  as  it  is  to  a  plant's  freedom  to  be  held  by  the  sun." 

^  It  is  to  be  noticed  that  among  all  the  "  excuses  "  mentioned 
in  our  Lord's  parable  of  the  supper,  the  modern  one  of  doubt, 
whether  "  the  invitation  is  really  meant  for  me,"  does  not  occur. 
They  all  felt  they  were  invited  to  a  supper,  and  were  wished  to 
come.  And  is  not  this  what  all  who  hear  the  gospel  really  feel 
below  the  artificial  surface  of  half-digested  doctrine  ? 


The  Open  Secret.  1 7 

those  who  yielded  to  Ggd,  although  at  the  very 
time  they  were  conscious  of  their  sinfulness  and 
their  utter  dependence  on  the  Spirit  of  God  ? 
It  may  be  compared  with  the  experience  of  the 
apostle  Peter  in  prison.  Four  quaternions  of 
soldiers  were  keeping  him.  He  was  sleeping 
between  two  soldiers,  bound  with  two  chains. 
Before  the  door  were  keepers  guarding  the 
prison.  Even  if  he  could  have  escaped  out  of 
these  chains  and  from  these  keepers,  there  was 
the  first  ward  and  then  the  second  ward,  and 
beyond  that  the  iron  gate  that  led  into  the  city. 
Was  ever  man  bound,  fettered,  and  hemmed  in 
so  helplessly  '^.  But  what  happened  ?  He  arose 
when  the  angel  commanded  him.  Noiselessly, 
easily,  the  chains  fell  off  from  his  hands.  He 
passed  from  the  soldiers  and  the  watchmen  ;  he 
passed  through  the  first  and  the  second  ward. 
The  heavy  iron  gate  opened  of  its  own  accord. 
It  appeared  like  a  vision,  so  smooth,  silent, 
and  perfect  was  the  deliverance.  It  is  in  like 
manner  that  the  sinner,  as  soon  as  he  says  in 
his  heart,  '  Yes '  to  the  heavenly  call,  as  soon  as 
he  lifts  up  his  eyes  unto  the  God  and  Father  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  finds  that  all  fetters  are 
burst,  all  keepers  are  powerless,  all  barriers 
are  removed.  He  does  arise  and  go  to  His 
Father.      He  can  pray  and  weep,  thank  and 

c 


The  Open  Secret. 


rejoice,   trust  and    hope.      He   draws   nigh    to 
God. 

"  Nothing  is  more  clearly  written  in  Scripture 
than,  on  the  one  hand,  that  the  first  upward 
movements  of  the  soul  towards  God  spring  from 
a  prevenient  operation  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
upon  that  soul — in  other  words,  that  the  first 
pulsations  of  the  spiritual  life  are  divinely  set 
in  motion  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  that  in  the 
production  of  this  change  the  soul  is  absolutely 
unconscious  of  any  motions  save  its  own.  It 
is  because  it  is  *  God  which  worketh  in  us  both 
to  will  and  to  do '  that  we  are  called  to  '  work 
out  our  own  salvation.'  The  instinct  of  every 
renewed  soul  realizes  this  fact,  and  his  every 
prayer  expresses,  in  one  and  the  same  breath, 
both  the  divine  soui^ce  and  the  absolutely  volun- 
tary character  of  all  his  Christian  emotions  and 
activities.  How  the  two  interact  and  blend 
into  one  is  a  beautiful  subject  for  thought,  but 
not  to  be  fully  apprehended  here,  and  possibly 
never. 

The  believer  also  still  needs  the  constant  ex- 
hortation and  encouragement — "  Draw  nigh  to 
God,  and  He  will  draw  nigh  to  you."  The 
spiritual  blessings,  which  are  given  to  him  ac- 

7  Dr.  D.  Browu. 


The  Open  Secret.  19 

cording  to  the  everlasting  covenant,  are  all 
treasured  up  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus. 
Once  we  have  begun  to  draw  nigh  to  God,  we 
must  always  continue  to  draw  nigh.  It  is 
both  a  necessity  and  our  delight.  A  necessity, 
because  we  are  still  as  dependent  on  the  crea- 
tive, supernatural  influence  of  grace.  When 
David  prays,  ''Create  in  me  a  clean  heart''  this 
is  not  the  supplication  of  one  who  for  the  first 
time  draws  nigh.  He  teaches  us  by  this  ex- 
pression, "that  whether  in  our  regeneration  or  in 
our  restoration  when  we  have  fallen,  whatever 
good  is  in  us  is  the  gift  of  His  grace. "^  We 
need  daily  renewing ;  and  whence  can  this 
renewing  come  but  from  above  ?  It  is  our 
delight  to  draw  nigh ;  for  our  soul  thirsteth 
after  God,  the  living  God.  To  behold  and  to 
enjoy  the  blessings  which  are  freely  given  to 
us  in  Christ,  the  believer  must  continually  draw 
near  to  God.  The  beautiful  robe  of  rigfhteous- 
ness,  the  abundant  and  perfect  forgiveness  of 
sin,  the  glorious  adoption  of  sons,  the  renewing 
and  upholding  influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the 
lively  hope  of  the  inheritance,  behold,  they  are 
ours !  But  let  us  never  think  that  thought, 
that  memory,  that  imagination,  can  bring  us 
into  actual  possession  or  enjoyment  of  them. 

^  Calvin. 


20  The  Open  Secret. 

We  must  draw  nigh  to  God,  and  He  will  again 
bless  us  with  all  spiritual  blessings. 

Again,  you  must  draw  nigh  to  God,  that  the 
fruit  of  the  Spirit  may  be  found  in  you.  Has 
God  created  you  anew  in  Christ  Jesus  ?  has 
He  taken  from  you  the  stony  heart  of  unbelief 
and  ingratitude  ?  has  He  kindled  within  you 
love,  that  love  which  embraces  the  Father  and 
the  children  ?  has  He  given  you  meekness, 
lowliness,  patience  ?  has  He  caused  you  to 
begin  the  warfare  with  sin,  and  the  obedience 
of  life  ?  then  remember  that  it  is  God  who 
works  all  this  in  you  by  His  Spirit;  that  it  is 
grace  which  is  disciplining  you  ;  that  it  is  not 
Nature,  but  the  divine  life  implanted  in  you, 
from  which  all  these  fruits  spring.  And  you 
need  to  draw  nigh  unto  God  daily  and  con- 
tinually, to  abide  in  Christ,  and  to  have  His 
word  abiding  in  you,  that  you  may  continue  to 
glorify  God.  Such  pensioners  are  we  of  the 
Divine  bounty,  daily  and  hourly  we  must  be 
recipients  of  His  gifts  and  of  His  power.  Peter 
imagines  he  has  a  stock  of  courage  and  loving 
loyalty  in  himself;  but  sad  experience  teaches 
him  that  his  nature  is  feeble  and  selfish  ;  that 
not  he,  but  Christ  in  him,  is  rock.  Moses, 
meekest  of  all  men,  cannot  of  himself  conquer 
the  hardness  of  Israel's  unbelief  by  rising  to 


The  Opeji  Secret.  21 

the  all-forgiving  gentleness  of  God.  Solomon's 
wisdom  becomes  folly;  Laodlcea  imagines  herself 
to  have  been  enriched  once  for  all,  and  forgets 
to  draw  nigh  unto  God.  Let  those  who  have 
received  most,  continue  asking ;  for  we  have 
nothing  in  ourselves  ;  our  sufficiency  is  of 
God. 

He  who  has  been  enriched  with  spiritual  gifts 
must  be  brought  constantly  to  feel  poor  in  spirit ; 
for  there  is  the  danger  of  his  cleaving  to  his 
gifts,  and  contemplating  his  gifted  self,  instead 
of  growing  up  into  Christ,  of  becoming  more 
rooted  in  Him  who  is  our  only  life  and  strength. 
We  are  nothing  unless  we  abide  in  God  ;  we 
can  do  nothing  apart  from  Christ.  We  know 
and  admit  this  as  a  doctrine  ;  but  to  realize  it 
as  a  fact,  painful  and  humbling  experience  is 
often  needed.  But  in  this  lowest  humiliation  is 
our  true  and  highest  exaltation.  God  takes  all 
things  from  us  that  we  may  turn  again  to  Him 
as  our  sure  Portion ;  He  makes  us  feel  our 
weakness,  our  poverty,  our  ignorance,  in  order 
that  we  may  return  to  Him  who  does  not  give 
strength,  gifts,  and  wisdom,  but  who  is  our  light 
and  our  salvation.  And  would  we  have  it  other- 
wise .f*  Do  we  not  love  to  have  it  so  .-^  Is  not 
God,  the  giver,  more  than  all  His  gifts  ?  Is  it 
not  an  infinitely  higher  state,  that  it  is  not  I, 


2  2  The  Open  Secret. 

but  Christ  that  llveth  in  me  ?  that  it  is  not  I, 
but  the  grace  of  God  that  worketh  in  me  ?  that 
it  is  not  I,  but  the  Spirit,  who  energises  in  me 
effectually  ? 

Is  it  not  beautiful  that  while  God  gives  us 
grace  to  grow  and  to  become  strong  in  Christ, 
to  attain  to  spiritual  manhood,  able  to  discern 
both  good  and  evil,  strong  to  endure  hardness 
in  the  warfare,  wise  to  win  souls  and  to  labour 
for  the  Master,  He  yet  allows  us  to  abide  in  all 
the  sweet  weakness  of  infancy,  resting  always 
calmly  on  His  bosom,  and  calling  forth  His 
motherly  tenderness;  in  the  confiding  and  peace- 
ful humility  of  childhood,  asking  for  wisdom 
and  guidance,  for  help  and  support  ?  The 
Christian  retains  what  is  lovely  and  beautiful  in 
every  age :  the  mysterious  helplessness  and 
sweetness  of  infancy,  the  humility  and  meek- 
ness of  childhood,  the  enthusiasm  and  hopeful- 
ness of  youth,  the  matured  and  sustained 
strength  of  manhood,  the  calmness  and  wisdom 
of  old  age. 

"  Draw  nigh  to  God,"  I  say  thirdly,  because, 
alas  !  we  are  often  betrayed  into  sin  and  forget- 
fulness  of  God.  We  still  go  astray ;  we  often 
become  weary,  and  do  not  resist  with  all  our 
power.  There  are  seasons  of  estrangement  and 
of  lukewarmness.  Sometimes  the  loving  Saviour 


The  Open  Secret.  23 

has  to  withdraw  Himself,  and  allow  us  to  feel 
how  dreary  and  bitter  it  is  to  forsake  Him. 
Sometimes  the  soul  that  has  left  its  first  love 
awakes  and  finds  all  dark  and  cold,  and  Jesus 
is  absent.  Sometimes  believers  are  in  danger 
of  becoming  proud,  hard,  self-sufficient,  and  it 
is  necessary  for  God  to  chasten  them  with  lean- 
ness in  their  soul.  I  feel  sure  that  in  all  this 
God  is  always  loving.  I  feel  sure  that  God 
would  always  have  us  live  in  the  sunshine  and 
joy  of  His  countenance. 

Why  are  these  seasons  of  languor  and  dark- 
ness ?  The  various  experiences  of  the  soul  are 
to  be  traced  either  to  our  sins,  or  to  our  tendency 
to  claim  divine  gifts  as  a  right,  and  to  forget 
that  we  are  always  dependent  on  grace.  Their 
object  is  to  chasten  and  to  restore- — -nay,  to 
prepare  us  for  a  higher  and  deeper  experience. 
Only  trust  Him  ;  for  blind  unbelief  is  sure  to 
err.  "  Draw  nio^h  to  God,  and  He  will  draw 
nigh  to  you." 

The  journey  through  the  wilderness,  which 
took  forty  years,  might  easily  have  been  accom- 
plished in  a  few  days.  Ten  times  Israel  tempted 
the  Lord  ;  for  years  they  lapsed  into  idolatry. 
We  read  of  Remphan  and  Moloch  in  the  annals 
of  the  chosen  people.  There  is  many  a  night 
of  darkness,   many  a  pang  and   conflict,   into 


24  The  Open  Secret. 

which  we  bring"  ourselves  by  our  own  sin,  by 
our  yielding  to  idolatry  and  conforming  with 
the  world.  In  the  Song  of  Songs  we  may  read 
a  description  of  the  soul's  varying  experience. 
That  Song-  does  not  describe  the  marriage  of 
the  Lamb.  The  Bride  is  sometimes  in  Jerusa- 
lem, then  in  the  mount  of  Lebanon  ;  now  and  at 
night-time  wandering  in  the  street,  now  in  the 
wilderness,  now  in  the  garden,  now  in  the  fields, 
now  in  the  house.  Sometimes  she  is  left  deso- 
late ;  sometimes  she  seeks  and  does  not  find ; 
she  calls,  and  He  does  not  answer.  Then  as!;ain 
she  rejoices  because  she  hears  the  voice  of  the 
Beloved,  and  is  assured  of  His  never-changing 
faithfulness.  At  times  she  is  deeply  conscious 
of  her  unworthiness,  and  takes  to  heart  the 
bitter  reproaches  of  the  watchmen  ;  at  other 
times  the  loyal  spirit  bursts  forth  in  exultation, 
and  she  is  persuaded  that  she  is  the  chosen  one, 
beautiful  in  His  sight.  The  Song  of  Solomon 
describes,  therefore,  the  experience  of  the  pil- 
grim state ;  and  though  there  are  in  this  book 
Old  Testament  aspects  which  perhaps  will  be 
fully  understood  only  when  Israel  is  converted 
and  restored,  and  though  since  the  Incarnation 
and  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  we  have  received 
deeper  and  fuller  disclosures,  yet  is  this  Song 
a  most  precious  and  fragrant  divinely-inspired 


The  Open  Secret.  25 

commentary  on  this  word:  "Draw  nigh  to  God, 
and  He  will  draw  nigh  to  you." 

And  you  who  feel  that  knowledge  has  puffed 
you  up,  and  that  love — humble,  contrite,  meek, 
and  adoring  love  —  has  forsaken  your  heart, 
beware  of  two  evils.  Do  not  underrate  the 
danger  of  your  present  state.  Read  the  Lord's 
estimate  of  lukewarmness  in  His  epistle  to  the 
Laodiceans.  (Rev.  iii.)  Do  not  fall  into  despond- 
ency ;  for  to  you  the  loving  Saviour  addresses 
His  most  tender,  compassionate,  and  touching 
words:  "Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door,  and  knock: 
if  any  man  hear  my  voice,  and  open  the  door, 
I  will  come  in  to  him,  and  will  sup  with  him, 
and  he  with  Me."  If  any  Christian  has  gone 
astray,  if  the  heart  has  become  cold  and  dead, 
draw  nigh  to  God.  Oh,  you  who  are  weary 
of  wandering  from  your  God,  and  are  now  made 
willing  to  return,  say  to  Jesus — 

"  Thou  knowest  the  way  to  bring  me  back, 

My  fallen  spirit  to  restore; 
Oh,  for  Thy  truth  and  mercy's  sake, 

Forgive,  and  bid  me  sin  no  more ! 
The  ruins  of  my  soul  repair, 
And  make  my  heart  a  house  of  prayer." 

Draw  nigh  to  God,  you  who  seek  to  draw 
others  unto  God  —  you  parents  and  masters, 
who  wish  to  be  a  blessing  to  your  children  and 


26  The  Open  Secret. 

households — you  teachers  and  evangelists  and 
visitors,  who  seek  the  good  of  souls.  Have 
you  not  felt  a  painful  void  after  speaking  for 
Christ,  or  doing  something  in  His  name,  even 
though  you  spoke  and  acted  in  faith  and  prayer? 
The  soul  coming  back  to  itself  feels  empty  and 
exhausted.  Power  and  blessing  have  gone  out 
from  you,  but  have  you  yourself  been  enriched 
and  strengthened  ?  .  .  .  "  Draw  nigh  to  God  !" 
There  is  no  place  so  good,  so  safe,  so  sweet 
for  the  teacher  as  the  place  of  the  learner — as 
the  place  of  Mary,  sitting  at  the  Master's  feet ; 
as  the  place  of  Paul,  bowing  his  knees  before 
the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ! 
There  let  us  all  unite  and  meet.  Here  on 
earth,  amid  all  the  noise  and  conflict,  the  sorrow 
and  the  trial  of  our  pilgrimage ;  there,  in  glory, 
where  we  shall  see  Jesus  as  He  is,  and  be  for 
ever  with  Him,  beholding,  adoring,  and  serving 
His  and  our  Father. 


NOTE  ON   MYSTICS. 


Indian  and  Mohammedan  mystics  contain  many  surprising 
glimpses  of  the  highest  truth.  The  deep  desire  and  thirst 
of  the  human  heart  after  the  Eternal  Origin  and  Fountain, 
expresses  itself  in  their  words  with  singular  force  and  beauty. 
What  can  be  more  profound  than  the  description  of  God- 
given,  God-wrought  prayer,  in  the  lines  on  a  Mohammedan 
saint : 

"  This  prayer  is  not  his  own  :  God  Himself  is  speaking. 

See,  God  prays  in  him,  and  he  stands  in  deep  contemplation. 

God  has  given  him  both  the  contemplation  and  the  answer  "  ?  * 

*  Quoted  by  Tholuck  on  Rom.  viii.  26  :  "The  Spirit  maketh  inter- 
cession for  us. " 

There  is  truth  and  error  in  the  remark  of  Schopenhauer  on  Christian 
and  Indian  'penitents'  :  "We  are  greatly  struck  by  their  similarity. 
With  an  utter  dissimilarity  of  dogmas,  customs,  and  external  circum- 
stances, their  aspirations  and  inner  life  are  identical.  Quietism,  or 
renunciation  of  all  will ;  askesis,  or  voluntary  mortifying  of  the  self-will ; 
and  mysticism,  or  the  recognition  of  the  identity  with  the  all  or  the 
root  of  the  universe  ;  these  stand  in  closest  connection."  The  Christian 
knows  not  only  wherein  religion  consists,  but  he  also  knows  the  source 
and po'wej-  of  the  true  life.  The  mystics  outside  Christianity  have  truly 
felt  the  necessity  of  death,  of  hating  our  own  will  and  life,  and  in  this 
respect  put  to  shame  many  professing  Christians  who  mind  earthly 
things,  and  are  the  enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ.  But  they  did  not 
know  :  "  Ye  have  died  -luith  Christ,  and  your  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in 
God. "  They  did  not  know  the  power  of  Christ's  resurrection,  and  the 
constraining  love  of  the  Divine  Saviour,  who  for  us  died  and  lived 
again,  that  we  henceforth  may  live  unto  Him.  They  may  therefore  be 
viewed  as  resembling  those  who,  through  the  law,  have  become  dead 
and  long  for  life. 


28  Note  on  Mystics. 

The  dangerous  tendencies  of  Christian  mystics  (I  use  no 
stronger  expression,  because  I  do  not  think  the  more  im- 
portant and  best-known  of  these  writers  have  fallen  into 
errors)  seem  to  be  (i)  towards  Pantheism.  They  dwell 
much  on  the  Scriptural  truth,  that  all  things  are  of  God  and 
through  Him  and  to  Him.  They  love  to  contemplate  the 
union  between  God  and  man,  between  Christ  and  the  be- 
liever— a  union  real  and  essential,  and  not  merely  ethical. 
It  is  here  that  they  sometimes  use  unguarded  expressions,  of 
our  being  Engoded  (vergottet) — "God  so  unites  Himself 
with  the  soul,  that  they  become  one  Spirit,  one  Substance  " 
(Makarius) — and  terms  still  more  vague  and  misleading. 
Yet  this  ought  not  to  prevent  our  appreciating  their  testi- 
mony of  the  truth  of  the  indwelling  of  God  in  us,  and  our 
indwelling  in  Him. 

2.  They  do  not  sufficiently  distinguish  between  Christ 
for  us  and  Christ  in  us.  Even  the  best  of  this  school,  like 
Tersteegen,  cannot  state  clearly  the  distinction  between 
justification  and  sanctification  ;  and  a  teacher  so  enlightened 
as  Tauler,  says,  that  as  long  as  we  are  on  earth  we  cannot 
attain  to  assurance  of  our  acceptance  and  salvation. 

3.  They  tend  to  divert  the  attention  from  Christ  to  the 
soul,  in  which  God  and  Christ  dwell ;  so  that  self  (renewed 
and  God-influenced,  yet  self)  becomes  the  object  of  contem- 
plation. This  tendency  is  subtle,  attractive,  and  dangerous. 
"  I  have  a  suspicion  about  the  mystics,"  says  Theremin ; 
"  they  never  are  in  a  peculiar  state  of  mind,  but  they  im- 
mediately reflect  on  it  and  describe  it."  There  is,  contrary 
to  their  own  theory,  much  of  their  own  willing  in  their  states 
and  phases.  To  contemplate  what  Christ  effects  in  us, 
instead  of  what  Christ  is — to  dwell  on  what  He  has  given 
us,  instead  of  the  unsearchable  riches  and  fulness  of  the 


Note  071  Mystics.  29 

Lord — will  produce  self-deception  instead  of  self-jiidginent,  and 
can  only  lower  the  standard  of  Perfectness,  which  is  none 
other  but  Christ  Himself 

Our  great  and  constant  desire  ought  to  be  to  know  Christ, 
and,  having  no  confidence  in  the  flesh,  to  rejoice  in  Him, 
waiting  for  His  coming,  when,  delivered  from  the  body  of 
sin,  we  shall  be  like  Him.  The  constant  watching  of  the 
growth  of  the  inner  man  leads  us  also  "  to  mistake  passing 
emotions  for  real  and  abiding  love  of  good,"  and  to  exalt 
any  peculiar  intuition  into  a  source  of  self-glorification. 

4.  The  relation  of  the  inward  teaching  of  the  Spirit  to 
the  Scripture  is  sometimes  not  properly  maintained.  It  is 
not  clearly  held  that  the  Scripture-revelation  and  the  direct 
teaching  of  the  Spirit  always  go  together,  and  that  all  inner 
experiences,  intuitions,  &c.j  must  be  judged  by  the  written 
Word. 

5.  The  objection  most  frequently  urged,  that  they  en- 
courge  a  morbid  quietism,  a  merely  passive  and  receptive 
attitude,  is  true  only  in  a  limited  degree.  The  mystics  were 
driven  into  solitude  by  the  mechanical  and  unspiritual  ex- 
ternalism  of  works  which  surrounded  them.  This  evil  is 
not  confined  to  any  period  or  church.  It  is  always  man's 
tendency  to  work  and  speak  and  run,  whether  sent  or  not, 
and  whether  or  not  '  the  hour  is  come.'  Against  this  the 
mystics  protested ;  but  that  they  did  not  encourage  false 
quietism  may  be  seen  from  such  passages  as  the  following, 
from  Tauler :  "  The  righteous  exercise  themselves  inwardly 
and  outwardly;  they  endure  in  all  paths  into  which  God 
leads  them,  in  temptation  and  in  darkness,  and  do  not  pre- 
tend that  they  have  already  reached  the  state  of  quietude. 
Works  of  love  are  more  pleasing  to  God  than  great  contem- 
plativeness.      If  thou  art  in  spiritual  devotion,  and  God 


2,0  Note  on  Mystics. 

sends  thee  to  go  out  to  preach  or  to  serve  a  sick  brother, 
God  will  be  more  present  to  thee  than  if  thou  remainest  in 
secret  contemplation." 

The  mystic  writers  will  always  be  a  useful  protest  against 
the  mere  '  form  of  godliness,'  and  the  letter  that  killeth  ; 
but  the  minds  that  feel  most  attracted  by  them  need  most 
to  be  on  their  guard  in  reading  them.  Let  everything  lead 
us  to  the  spiritual  and  diligent  study  of  the  perfect,  health- 
ful, and  precious  word  of  God. 


CHAPTER    II. 

SINCERITY  IN  DRAWING  NIGH  TO  GOD. 

" Draw  nigh  to  God,  and  He  will  draw  nigh  to  you" 
James  iv.  8. 

A  LTHOUGH  man  has  forsaken  God,  the 
fountain  of  Hving  water,  he  has  not  given 
up  the  desire  for  something  to  satisfy  the  thirst 
of  his  spirit.  He  seeks  light  for  the  mind,  love 
for  the  heart,  peace  for  the  soul  ;  he  seeks 
honour  and  glory.  He  is  not  content  with 
existence ;  he  wishes  to  live  ;  he  wants  fulness 
of  life,  vigorous,  joyous,  long-enduring.  He 
still  wants  water,  though  he  has  left  God.  This 
it  is  which  he  seeks  in  broken  cisterns.  And 
yet  God  is  the  only  fountain  of  living  water. 
Have  we  returned  to  Him  ?  Have  we  found 
Him  whom  ignorantly  we  were  seeking  ?  Have 
we  become  the  disciples  and  children  of  the 
heavenly  wisdom  ?  and  is  our  inward  eye  re- 
joicing now  in  the  light,  so  that  we  can  say, 
It  is  pleasant  to  behold  the  sun  ?  Have  we,  as 
weary  and  heavy-laden  ones,  come  to  Jesus,  and 


32      Sincerity  in  Drawing  Nigh  to  God. 

has  He  given  us  the  blood-purchased,  perfect 
peace  ?  Have  we  found  the  only  One  who  is 
worthy  to  be  loved  with  the  whole  heart,  and 
has  divine  love  been  shed  abroad  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  ?  Are  we  seeking  the  only  true  honour 
which  Cometh  from  God  ?  as  Jesus  said,  "If  any 
man  serve  Me,  him  will  my  Father  honour." 
Are  we  on  our  way  to  heaven — drawing  nigh 
to  God  ?  Then  do  we  rejoice  with  joy  unspeak- 
able and  full  of  glory,  a  solemn,  humble,  heaven- 
anticipating  joy — 

"  I  've  found  the  pearl  of  greatest  price  ; 

My  heart  doth  sing  for  joy. 
Christ  Jesus  is  the  heaven  of  heaven, 

My  Christ,  what  shall  I  call  ? 
Christ  is  the  first,  Christ  is  the  last, 

And  Christ  is  all  in  all." 

It   is  a    orreat  thino-  to   have  found   Christ. 

o  o 

Once  He  was  nothing  to  us  ;  then  He  became 
something  to  us  ;  but  now  He  is  all  to  us.  It 
is  a  ereat  thingr  that  those  who  have  found 
Christ  abide  in  Him,  even  as  it  will  be  a  great 
thing  to  be  glorified  together  with  Him.  As  it 
is  great,  it  needs  all  our  thought  and  purpose, 
diligence  and  watchfulness  ;  it  is  the  one  thing 
we  do,  we  are  busy  in  "  our  salvation,"  and  this 
with  fear  and  trembling.  As  it  is  glorious,  so, 
alas !   there   are   many  counterfeits,   many    de- 


Sincerity  in  Drawing  Nigh  to  God.      2)1) 

ceivers,  many  self-deceived.  Many  who  look 
like  sheep  on  the  hill-side  are  seen  by  God  to 
be  dead  stones.  Some  (so  the  Saviour  warns 
us)  who  say  emphatically  and  sweetly,  Lord, 
are  strangers  to  Jesus  ;  He  never  knew  them. 
Many  who  are  busy  and  troubled  about  many 
things  in  the  service  of  Christ  have  never  yet 
chosen  the  one  thing  needful,  the  good  part 
which  shall  not  be  taken  from  us. 

It  has  been  remarked  ^  that  a  hypocrite 
generally  thinks  himself  the  sincerest  person  in  >' 
the  world.  The  godly,  in  whose  spirit  there 
is  no  ofuile,  examine  themselves,  distrust  their 
deceitful  hearts,  and  pray  to  God :  "  Search 
me,  and  know  my  heart ;  try  me,  and  know  my 
thoughts."" 

'  Kohlbriigge. 

^  "  The  godly  man  hates  the  evil  he  possibly  by  temptation 
hath  been  drawn  to  do,  and  loves  the  good  he  is  frustrated  of, 
and,  having  intended,  hath  not  attained  to  do.  The  sinner,  who 
hath  his  denomination  from  sin  as  his  course,  hates  the  good 
which  sometimes  he  is  forced  to  do,  and  loves  that  sin  which 
many  times  he  does  not,  either  wanting  occasion  and  means,  so 
that  he  cannot  do  it,  or  through  the  check  of  an  enlightened 
conscience  possibly  dares  not  do  ;  and  though  so  bound  up  from 
the  act,  as  a  dog  in  a  chain,  yet  the  habit,  the  natural  inclination 
and  desire  in  him,  is  still  the  same,  the  strength  of  his  aftection 
is  carried  to  sin.  So  in  the  weakest  sincere  Christian,  there  is 
that  predominant  sincerity  and  desire  of  holy  walking,  according 
to  which  he  is  called  a  righteous  person  :  the  Lord  is  pleased  to 
give  him  that  name,  and  account  him  so,  being  upright  in  heart 
though  often  failing." — ARCHBISHOP  Leighton. 

D 


34     Sincerity  in  Drawing  Nigh  to  God. 

The  Scripture  warnings  are  very  solemn,  but 
only  drive  us  to  Him  who  will  never  deceive 
us,  and  who  will  not  withhold  anything  that 
is  good  from  them  that  are  upright  in  heart. 
Searcher  of  hearts,  I  feel  only  safe  with  thee ; 
and  the  more  I  know  thee  as  the  Searcher  of 
hearts,  the  more  I  love  thee  as  the  Healer  of 
hearts.  Eyes  of  Jesus,  like  a  flame  of  fire, 
when  you  wound  the  heart,  the  unfaithful  dis- 
ciple goes  out  and  weeps  bitterly.  Bright  light 
of  God's  throne,  I  cannot  approach  thee  while 
I  conceal  my  sin,  and  while  unloving  thoughts 
toward  my  brother  fill  my  soul ;  but  if  I  walk  in 
the  light,  and  have  fellowship  with  my  brethren, 
the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  God's  Son,  cleanseth 
me  from  all  sin. 

What  is  meant  by  sincerity  in  drawing  nigh 
to  God  ? 

This  question  is  suggested  by  the  text  itself, 
and  by  the  words  which  immediately  follow,  and 
which  are  addressed  to  the  double-minded.  A 
most  forcible  expression  (Sii/^uxoi),  reminding  us 
of  the  Psalmist's,  "A  heart  and  a  heart.^  James 
is  most  valuable  as  a  teacher,  helping  us  to  a 
knowledge  of  sin,  and  yet  his  pen  is  steeped 
in  grace."^     Continuing  the  Master's  testimony 

3  Psalm  xii.  2  :  "  Flattering  lips  and  a  double  heart." 
"  Nitzsch. 


Sincerity  in  Drawing  Nigh  to  God.      35 

against  the  Pharisees,  he  exhorts  us  to  have 
the  faith  of  our  Lord  in  singleness  of  heart, 
thought,  speech,  and  action. 

Thus  in  the  first  chapter  he  speaks  of  single- 
ness of  heart  toward  God,  who  giveth  in  sim- 
plicity (dTrAws),  and  who  is  simple  and  unmixed 
light.  In  the  second  chapter  he  exhorts  us  to 
have  the  faith  in  our  Lord  in  simplicity,  without 
respect  to  persons.  He  also  shows  us  the  unity 
of  the  law;  it  is  one,  .and  undivided.  In  the 
third  chapter  he  insists  on  simplicity  in  speech, 
that  we  should  bless  God  and  men,  which  are 
made  in  the  similitude  of  God.  In  the  fourth 
chapter  he  warns  us  against  a  double  heart  in 
our  communion  with  God.  The  whole  epistle 
is  a  comment  on  the  petition  of  David,  "  Unite 
my  heart,"  and  of  the  word  of  the  Lord,  "If 
thine  eye  be  single,  thy  whole  body  will  be  full 
of  light." 

When  we  speak  of  drawing  nigh  to  God,  we 
think  immediately  of  prayer,  and  yet  prayer  is 
only  one  manifestation  of  drawing  nigh  to  God. 
True  it  is  the  most  important,  concentrated, 
and,  so  to  say,  the  culminating  point  of  the 
soul's  approach  to  God,  We  may  say,  that  as 
our  prayer  so  is  our  life.  Our  prayer  is  what 
God  hears,  not  merely  the  words  we  utter  ;  God 
hears  our  thoughts,  the  desires  of  our  hearts. 


o 


6      Sinceriiy  in  Drazuing  Nigh  to  God. 


We  may  also  say,  that  as  our  life  is,  so  is  our 
prayer,  into  which  it  returns,  and  in  which  it 
expresses  itself.  Behold  one  approaching  the 
altar  of  God.  He  draws  nigh  to  God;  so  it 
appears  to  himself,  so  it  appears  to  us.  But  the 
last  week's  or  month's  life  has  left  a  bitter  sedi- 
ment in  his  heart.  His  brother  has  something 
against  him.  There  is  a  cloud  of  hatred,  or 
estrangement,  or  envy,  or  injustice  between  him 
and  his  brother.  Can  he,  does  he,  draw  nigh 
to  God  ?  When  Jesus  says,  "  If  ye  forgive  not 
men  their  trespasses,  neither  will  your  Father 
forgive  your  trespasses,"  He  announces  a  prin- 
ciple, of  which  this  one  particular  sin  is  only  an 
illustration.  There  is  a  prayer  which  is  not 
prayer ;  there  is  a  false  and  fruitless  drawing 
near  to  God,  and  this  is  its  character — insin- 
cerity ;  or  as  the  psalmist  says  :  "If  I  regard 
iniquity  in  my  heart,  the  Lord  will  not  hear 
me. 

Sin  is  that  which  separates  between  God  and 
us.  His  ear  is  not  heavy,  that  it  cannot  hear, 
and  His  hand  is  not  shortened,  that  it  cannot 
save.  He  delighteth  in  mercy:  it  is  His  joy 
to  bless  ;  it  is  His  glory  to  heal  and  to  comfort. 
But  we  must  draw  near  with  a  true  heart.  It 
may  be  asked  :  Is  not  Jesus  the  propitiation 
for  our  sins  ?  and  are  we  not  to  draw  nigh  to 


Sincerity  in  Draiuino^  Nigh  to  God.      37 

God  just  as  we  are  ?    Let  us  examine  this  point 
more  closely. 

God  redeemed  Israel  by  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb,  that  they  might  serve  Him.  They  knew 
what  they  worshipped.  They  adored  the  living 
God,  the  Fountain  of  blessedness,  holy,  just, 
and  true.  They  knew  His  mercy,  and  the  way 
of  access  unto  His  throne.  God  appointed  the 
way  in  which  they  were  to  '  draw  nigh.'  The 
light  may  have  been  but  dim,  but  it  was  true  and 
God-given.  They  knew  God,  a  just  God,  and 
yet  a  Saviour.  And  yet  of  this  people,  thus 
approaching  God  in  the  way  He  had  appointed, 
and  offering  the  sacrifices  which  God  had  or- 
dained, the  Lord  complains  :  "  This  people 
draweth  near  unto  Me  with  their  lips,  but  their 
hearts  are  far  from  Me."  "  To  what  purpose  is 
the  multitude  of  your  sacrifices  unto  Me  .'*... 
Wash  you,  make  you  clean  ;  put  away  the  evil 
of  your  doings  from  before  mine  eyes  ;  cease  to 
do  evil ;  learn  to  do  well."  Strange  language, 
when  we  think  that  not  by  works,  but  by  grace 
we  are  saved,  and  that  the  sacrifices  spoken  of 
were  types  of  the  only  sacrifice  and  substitute, 
without  whose  shed  blood  is  no  remission  of 
sin.  To  translate  this  language  into  the  lan- 
guage of  the  New  Testament  times,  it  would 
be  thus  :   To  what  purpose  is  the  multitude  of 


o 


8     Sincerity  in  D^'azving  Nigh  to  God. 


your  appeals  to  Jesus,  as  your  perfect  Right- 
eousness, and  your  prayers  in  the  name  of  Him, 
who  came  to  save  you  from  your  sins?  Cleanse 
your  hands,  ye  sinners,  and  purify  your  hearts, 
ye  double-minded.  "  Draw  nigh  to  God,  and 
He  will  draw  nigh  to  you." 

*'  Come  now,  and  let  us  reason  together,  saith 
the  Lord  :  though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they 
shall  be  as  white  as  snow ;  though  they  be  red 
like  crimson,  they  shall  be  as  wool."  This  verse 
is  often  quoted  to  encourage  the  sinner  to  turn 
to  God.  It  doubtless  contains  one  of  the  most 
comforting  declarations  of  the  wonderful  mercy 
of  God.  It  is  addressed  to  the  chief  of  sinners, 
and  speaks  of  grace  abounding.  But  is  it  right 
and  safe  to  separate  this  word  from  the  context? 
Is  it  right  to  forget  the  now  which  connects  the 
appeal  with  the  preceding  command,  "  Wash 
you,  make  you  clean"  ?  or  to  sever  it  from  the 
exposure  of  formalism,  insincerity,  and  hypocrisy 
which  goes  before  this  exhortation  ?  Are  we  to 
preach  the  gospel  differently  from  prophets  and 
apostles  ?  or  are  we  afraid  that  the  message  Vv^ill 
lose  its  power  and  sweetness  when  we  give  it 
fully  ?     This  be  far  from  us  ! 

The  difficulty  may  arise,  however,  that  there 
is  a  contradiction  here  to  the  truth  of  free 
grace.      Does  the  prophet  mean  that  we  must 


Sincerity  in  Drawing  Nigh  to  God.      39 

first  cleanse  ourselves  from  evil  before  we  draw 
nigh  to  God,  and  that  then  God  will  forgive  and 
receive  us  ?  No  ;  he  declares  the  o-lad  tidint^s 
of  salvation  and  of  free  pardon,  or,  in  New 
Testament  language,  Jesus  receiveth  sinners. 
But  sinners  who  wish  to  come  to  God,  who  not 
merely  wish  to  be  rescued  out  of  danger  and 
delivered  from  pain,  but  whose  desire  is  to  be 
received  of  God,  to  be  assured  of  His  love,  to 
be  renewed  by  His  Spirit,  to  turn  from  sin  to 
God,  from  earth  to  heaven,  from  self  to  Christ. 
If  we  draw  nigh  to  God,  if  in  Jesus  we  ap- 
proach Him,  He  will  immediately  receive,  He 
will  abundantly  pardon. 

Unless  this  truth  be  fully  stated,  men  may 
be  dealing  with  shadows  instead  of  realities  ; 
they  may  never  realize  what  is  meant  by  God, 
by  sin,  by  reconciliation  ;  they  may  deceive 
themselves  with  the  most  fatal  delusion  and 
dream  of  divine  love,  which  they  have  never 
experienced  in  its  awful  holiness  and  in  its 
fatherly  sweetness. 

It  is  strange,  that  what  would  be  immediately 
granted  to  be  true  in  the  case  of  very  flagrant 
vice,  is  only  reluctantly  acknowledged  to  apply 
to  all  men  and  to  all  sin.  What  is  the  gospel 
I  am  to  preach  to  one  addicted  to  some  vice  ^. 
Am   I   to  say  to  him,  You  must  first  give  up 


40     Sincerity  in  Drawing  Nigh  to  God. 

your  evil  habit,  and  then  draw  nigh  to  God  ? 
This  would  be  extremely  wrong,  foolish,  cruel. 
Reminding  him  of  what  sin  is,  how  evil,  dis- 
honouring to  God,  and  ruinous  to  man  ;  what  a 
power  and  tyranny,  we  must  speak  of  the  love 
of  God,  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  the  renewing 
grace  of  the  Saviour.  But  is  it  not  part  of  the 
message,  that  he  must  turn  to  God  with  the  full 
and  sincere  resolution  to  give  up  his  sinful 
habit  ?  I  may  say  to  him.  Do  not  be  astonished 
if  you  find  it  still  difficult,  even  after  your  con- 
version to  God,  to  give  up  this  sin ;  do  not  feel 
despair  if  you  should  have  most  painful  struggle 
and  occasional  failure,  but  God  will  help  you, 
only  turn  to  Him,  surrendering  your  whole  will 
to  His  will,  who  has  said,  No  drunkard,  &c.,  shall 
inherit  the  kingdom  of  God, 

If  this  is  true  of  drunkenness,  of  lying,  of 
stealing,  is  it  not  true  of  every  sin  ?  And  does 
not  drawing  nigh  to  God — faith  in  Jesus — imply 
the  full  and  sincere  determination  of  departing 
from  all  iniquity  ?  Can  there  be  a  real  transac- 
tion between  God  and  the  soul,  can  there  be  a 
real  beholding  of  Jesus  and  His  death  on  the 
cross,  without  this  inward  and  painful  turning 
away  from  sin  ? 

There  are  two  elements,  inseparably  connected 
by  God,  which  when   separated   change   their 


Sincerity  in  Drawing  Nigh  to  God.     41 

character.  God  is  holy  and  righteous  Love,  and 
He  desires  truth  and  purity  in  us.  God  is 
mercifnl  and  gracious  Love,  and  He  receives 
sinners  freely  in  Christ,  Now  when  the  mes- 
sage is  brought.  Draw  nigh  to  God,  some 
who  are  impressed  with  the  holy  and  righteous 
character  of  God,  interpret  the  call  to  mean  that 
they  must  amend  their  lives,  and,  if  possible, 
purify  their  hearts.  Others  seem  to  understand 
the  free  invitation  and  the  immediate  acceptance 
of  the  sinner  through  Christ,  but  they  do  not 
see  the  necessary  connection  between  this  grace 
and  the  renewal  of  the  heart,  the  transformation 
of  their  character,  the  turning  round  from  sin 
to  the  service  of  God.  Now  both,  although 
taking  hold  of  opposite  poles  of  truth,  make  the 
same  mistake.  They  do  not  realize  the  living 
God ;  they  do  not  behold  Jesus  Himself,  and 
Him  crucified. 

To  turn  away  from  sin,  and  to  behold  the 
mercy  of  God  in  Christ,  is  repentance  unto  life. 
Some  are  sincere  in  wishinof  to  be  delivered  from 
sin,  but  they  do  not  turn  to  God.  Some  fancy  they 
have  come  to  God,  but  they  have  never  turned 
away  from  sin.^    It  is  true,  we  are  to  come  with 

5  The  prophets  contain  many  illustrations  of  this  self-decep- 
tion ;  for  instance,  Zech.  vii.  5  :  "  Speak  unto  all  the  people  of 
the  land,  and  to  the  priests,  saying,  When  ye  fasted  and  mourned 


42      Sincerity  in  Drawing  Nigh  to  God. 

all  our  sins  ;  but  we  are  to  come  with  them 
against  them  to  condemn  them  before  God,  and 
declare  ourselves  determined  to  forsake  them, 
that  He  may  deliver  us  from  them  all.  It  is 
true,  that  only  by  drawing  nigh  to  God  can  we 
obtain  the  forgiveness  of  sin  and  the  victory 
over  sin.  But  we  cannot  ask  the  one  without 
desiring  the  other.  We  cannot  be  gladdened 
by  the  light  of  Christ's  resurrection,  except 
we  have  our  heart  broken  on  account  of  sin 
and  from  sin  by  looking  at  the  Lamb  of  God 
crucified  for  us.  We  cannot  be  admitted  into 
the  kingdom  unless  we  die  to  sin  and  to  the 
world.  This  strait  gate,  this  new  birth,  this 
rending  of  the  heart,  this  death-blow  to  the  old 
man,  is  indispensable.  Jesus  is  not  the  servant 
of  sin,  but  the  Saviour  of  sinners.  He  takes 
away  the  false  peace  of  a  self-satisfied  heart, 
and  heals  the  broken-hearted." 

in  the  fifth  and  seventh  month,  even  those  seventy  years,  did  ye 
at  all  fast  unto  me,  even  to  me  ?"  The  frequent  exhortations  in 
Isaiah  and  Jeremiah,  point  out  that  false  repentance  does  not 
go  deep  enough — the  turning  from  sin;  and  not  high  enough — 
turning  to  God.  While  the  epistles  are  profitable  and  applicable 
to  the  true  Church,  the  kernel  of  the  congregation,  the  prophets 
are  most  needed  by  the  actual  mixed  congregation  of  gospel- 
hearers  and  professing  Christians. 

*  We  come  to  Jesus  'just  as  we  are;'  yet  not  to  remain  'just 
as  we  are,'  but  to  be  washed,  renewed,  and  set  apart  for  God's 
service. 


Sincerity  in  Draiving  Nigh  to  God.      43 

Without  this  there  is  no  drawino-  nicrh  to 
God.  To  be  consciously  in  the  presence  of 
God  and  of  the  Lamb,  to  approach  spiritually 
the  mercy-seat,  involves  the  reception  of  the 
twofold  truth  :  Jesus  died  for  me ;  Jesus  is 
henceforth  to  dwell  and  live  in  me.  Unless  we 
realize  both  these  truths,  we  do  not  realize  God; 
and  Jesus  may  say  to  us,  "  Hitherto  ye  have 
asked  nothing  in  my  name."  For  zvhat  is  it 
that  such  imaginary  coming  to  Jesus  asks  of 
Him,  but  to  be  allowed  to  retain  the  false  com- 
fort of  peace  when  there  is  no  peace.  There  is 
no  other  real  petition  offered,  either  for  light,  or 
love,  or  strength,  to  serve  God  and  to  glorify 
His  name. 

It  was  said  by  the  angel  concerning  Saul  of 
Tarsus,  after  the  Lord  had  appeared  unto  him, 
"  Behold,  he  prayeth."  Saul  had  no  doubt 
been  in  the  habit  of  praying  from  his  childhood  ; 
and  without  charging  him  with  hypocrisy  or 
formalism,  it  is  evident  that  in  the  true  and  full 
sense  of  the  word  he  had  never  prayed  to  God 
until  Jesus  had  appeared  unto  him.  What  was 
the  difference  between  his  former  prayers  and 
his  present  approach  ?  for  as  a  Pharisee  he  had 
prayed  to  the  true  and  living  God.  The  differ- 
ence was  this.  Formerly  he  approached,  having 
his  own  righteousness.     As  he  felt  it  sufficient, 


44      Sincerity  in  Drawing  N^igJi  to  God. 

he  drew  near  with  an  imperfect  thing  to  the 
Perfect  One,  and  therefore,  unconsciously  but 
most  really,  he  lowered  God  in  his  idea,  and 
brought  Him  down  to  his  own  level. 

In  the  presence  of  such  a  conception  of  God, 
sin  does  not  appear  exceeding  sinful,  and  no 
cry  of  true  petition  ascends  out  of  the  depth. 
And  as  there  is  no  crucifixion  of  the  old  man, 
there  is  no  birth  of  the  new,  no  resurrection- 
life  and  power.  Such  prayer  leaves  the 'self- 
righteous  as  he  was  before.  But  when  Jesus 
appeared  to  Saul,  then  he  beheld  his  whole  past 
life  as  sinful,  his  righteousness  as  filthy  rags,  his 
zeal  as  zeal  against  God  ;  the  name  of  the  Lord 
as  Jesus,  Saviour,  deepened  still  further  the 
agonizing  sense  of  his  guilt.  Now  he  was  no 
longer  heart-whole ;  his  righteousness  and  his 
peace  vanished  ;  he  stood  before  God  a  sinner. 
He  cried  out  of  the  depths,  he  turned  with 
loathing  from  the  things  of  which  he  formerly 
boasted,  and  hid  himself  in  Jesus.  Now  it 
became  clear  to  him  what  Jehovah  meant  by 
always  speaking  of  His  righteousness,  of  His 
salvation  ;  now  he  understood  that  not  by  the 
works  of  the  law,  but  by  the  grace  of  the  Lord, 
can  Abraham's  seed  be  justified. 

Thus  when  we  really  draw  nigh  to  God,  we 
must  take  hold  of  Christ,  and  submit  ourselves 


Sincerity  in  Drawing  NigJi  to  God.      45 

to  the  righteousness  of  God,  which  is  in  Him. 
When  we  have  a  view  of  the  perfection  of 
God  ;  when  we  understand  in  our  heart,  to  some 
extent,  the  holy  name  of  the  Saviour- God, 
Jehovah,  then  we  joyfully  accept  the  declaration 
of  grace:  Jehovah- Tsidkenu — the  Lord  our 
Righteousness.  It  is  because  men  do  not  see 
God  that  they  do  not  feel  the  need  of  media- 
tion. When  in  the  presence  of  God,  we  cannot 
abide  without  the  best  robe,  without  righteous- 
ness, divine,  perfect,  all-glorious  ;  whiter  than 
snow,  whiter  than  any  fuller,  whiter  than  any 
earthly  art  or  skill  can  make  it.  Like  the  light 
of  the  sun,  the  righteousness  of  God  falls  on  us, 
and  in  Christ  Jesus  we  are  made  the  righteous- 
ness of  God. 

When  we  thus  accept  Christ  for  us,  the  Son 
of  God  is  revealed  in  21s.  (Gal.  i.  16.) 

By  this  very  act  of  coming  to  Jesus,  we  are 
separated  from  sin.  The  same  hand  which  blots 
out  our  sins,  writes  the  law  of  God  on  our  hearts. 
The  new  man  is  born,  the  old  man  is  nailed  to 
•the  cross.  As  we  condemn  ourselves,  both  our 
so-called  grood  works  and  our  sin- — ourselves 
the  guilty  and  polluted  branches  of  the  first 
Adam — so  we  are  transplanted  into  the  king- 
dom of  God,  grafted  into  Christ,  that  He  may 
now  live  in  us.     Paul  felt  now  that  Christ,  who 


46     Sincerity  in  Drawing  Nigh  to  God. 

was  his  Riohteousness,  was  his  Master  and 
Lord,  his  guide  and  joy,  his  Hfe  and  strength  ; 
and  that  as  Jesus  had  identified  Himself  with 
Stephen,  so  now  he  would  identify  Himself  with 
him.  Paul  is  therefore,  indeed,  a  new  creature  ; 
he  is  reconciled  to  God,  he  is  in  Christ.  This 
is  conversion.  The  sinner,  feeling  the  burden 
of  sin,  cries  to  God,  Have  mercy  upon  me,  O 
God !  And  as  the  sinner  seeks  God,  so  God 
seeks  the  sinner,  his  heart,  the  surrender  of  the 
whole  man — the  salvation  and  future  glory  of 
the  lost  one,  for  whom  Jesus  died.  Thus  God 
finds  the  sinner,  and  rejoices  ;  the  sinner  finds 
God,  and  is  at  peace. 

"  Less  than  Thyself  will  not  suffice 

My  comfort  to  restore. 
A  sense  of  Thine  expiring  love 

Into  my  soul  convey  ; 
Thyself  bestow  ;  for  Thee  alone 

I  absolutely  pray." 

Our  blessed  Lord,  who  is  Himself  both  the 
great  Evangelist  and  the  great  Gospel,  while 
never  discouraging  sinners  who  draw  near  to 
hear  Him,  always  discouraged  those  who  wished 
to  substitute  a  mere  outward  reception  of  His 
truth  for  the  real  inward  turning  from  sin  unto 
God.  When  the  multitudes  came  to  listen  to 
His  teaching   He   did   not  regard   this  as   an 


Since7'-ity  in  Drawing  Nigh  to  God.     47 

infallible  sign  of  their  right  condition,  or  o-ive 
them  an  immediate  assurance  of  their  safety ; 
but  He  showed,  in  the  parable  of  the  sower, 
what  was  the  character  of  true  hearing.  When 
men  enthusiastically  offered  their  allegiance, 
Jesus  put  before  them  all  the  difficulties  and 
severe  conditions  of  discipleship,  that  man 
must  deny  himself,  and  take  up  his  cross  ;  that 
unless  we  prefer  Christ  to  father  and  mother 
and  to  our  own  life,  we  are  not  worthy  of  Him. 
Yet  is  Jesus  the  Saviour,  who  will  not  break 
the  bruised  reed,  nor  quench  the  smoking  flax ; 
yet  is  it  God,  who  Himself  works  in  us  both  to 
will  and  to  do. 

Jesus  is  the  great  magnet.  When  the  soul 
is  drawn  by  Him,  and  approaches  God  in 
Christ,  there  is  the  twofold  experience,  bitter 
and  sweet ;  the  experience  of  death,  painful 
and  humiliating,  the  experience  of  life,  joyous 
and  full  of  consolation  and  peace.  The  sword 
of  the  law  goes  again  through  our  soul  more 
piercing  than  ever,  while  the  kiss  of  the  Father 
heals  and  gladdens  our  heart. 

In  a  recent  poem'^  this  experience  is  described 
very  forcibly,  only  that  it  is  erroneously  repre- 
sented to  take  place  after  the  soul's  departure 
from  this  life.     Beholding  the  Lord  in  His  holy 

7  J.  H.  Newman,  Dream  of  Gerontius. 


48      Sincerity  in  Draiuing  Nigh  to  God. 

and.  merciful  love,  the  soul  feels  pierced  with 
an  overwhelming  sense  of  sin  and  guilt,  and  at 
the  same  time  blessed  with  the  sweet  hope  of 
ineffable  orrace.     The  oruardian  anorel  thus  de- 

o  &  o 

scribes  the  twofold  effect  of  the  approach  to  the 
Saviour  : 

".  .  .  .  Praise  to  His  name! 
The  eager  spirit  has  departed  from  my  hold. 
And,  with  the  intemperate  energy  of  love, 
Flies  to  the  dear  feet  of  Emmanuel ; 
But,  ere  it  reach  them,  the  keen  sanctity, 
Which  with  its  effluence,  like  a  glory,  clothes 
And  circles  round  the  Crucified,  has  seized. 
And  scorched,  and  shrivelled  it ;  and  now  it  lies 
Passive  and  still  before  the  awful  Throne. 
O  happy,  suffering  soul !  for  it  is  safe. 
Consumed,  yet  quickened,  by  the  glance  of  God." 

This  is  what  happens  on  earth,  when  we  are 
brought  by  the  Spirit  to  look  unto  Him  whom 
we  have  pierced,  and  to  mourn.  As  Newton 
described  it — 

"  In  evil  long  I  took  delight, 
Unawed  by  shame  or  fear. 
Till  a  new  object  struck  my  sight, 
And  stopped  my  wild  career. 

"  I  saw  One  hanging  on  a  tree. 
In  agonies  and  blood. 
Who  fixed  His  languid  eyes  on  me. 
As  near  His  cross  I  stood. 

"  Sure  never  till  my  latest  breath 
Can  I  forget  that  look ; 
It  seemed  to  charge  me  with  His  death. 
Though  not  a  word  He  spoke. 


Sincerity  in  Draiuing  Nigh  to  God.     49 

"  My  conscience  felt  and  owned  the  guilt, 
And  plunged  me  in  despair ; 
I  saw  my  sins  His  blood  had  spilt, 
And  helped  to  nail  Him  there. 

"  Alas  !  I  knew  not  what  I  did ; 
But  now  my  tears  are  vain ; 
Where  shall  my  trembling  soul  be  hid  ? 
For  I  the  Lord  have  slain. 

"A  second  look  He  gave,  which  said, 
*  I  freely  all  forgive ; 
This  blood  is  for  thy  ransom  paid ; 
I  die  that  thou  may'st  live.' 

"Thus,  while  His  death  my  sin  displays 
In  all  its  blackest  hue, 
(Such  is  the  mystery  of  grace) 
It  seals  my  pardon  too. 

"  With  pleasing  grief  and  mournful  joy 
My  spirit  now  is  filled, 
That  I  should  such  a  life  destroy, 
Yet  live  by  Him  I  killed." 

This  is  conversion,  and  here  is  the  source  of 
our  holiness. 

Thus  coming  unto  God,  from  one  and  the 
same  central  transaction  flow  justification  and 
sanctification,  distinct  but  inseparable.  If  con- 
version is  truly  understood,  and  has  really 
taken  place,  no  new  starting-point  is  needed 
for  sanctification.  When  the  apotles  answers 
indignantly  the  false  accusation  inferred  from 
his  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith,  he  does 
not  need  to  add  anything  to  that  doctrine,  but 
only  to  repeat  it,  to  show  what  is  most  unmis- 

E 


50     Sincerity  in  Drawing  Nigh  to  God. 

takeably  and  fully  involved  in  it.  How  can  we 
live  unto  sin,  seeing  that  by  coming  unto  Jesus, 
crucified  for  us,  we  have  died  unto  sin  ?  How 
can  we  sin,  seeing  that  we  are  not  under  the 
law,  which  condemns  and  gives  no  life,  but  under 
grace,  which  brings  to  us  both  the  pardon  and 
the  power  of  God,  because  it  brings  God  to  us, 
and  us  to  God?^ 

How  much  does  the  Christian  need  to  be 
reminded  of  sincerity  in  prayer!  It  is  easy  to 
mistake  passing  emotions  for  that  abiding  and 
true  faith  which  worketh  in  love,  and  to  rest  in 
our  admiration  of  intense  and  spiritual  petitions 
which  have  not  yet  become  the  desire  of  the 
heart  and  the  concentrated  determination  of  the 
will.  There  is  often  one  idol,  one  cherished 
sin,  of  which  we  are  conscious,  but  which  we 
are  not  willing  to  bring  into  the  light  of  the 
countenance,  the  thorn -crowned  countenance, 
before  which  sin  cannot  remain  uncondemned. 
There  may  be  one  habit,  if  not  of  sin  in  the 
ordinary  sense  of  the  word,  yet  of  that  which 
is  not  of  faith.^     It  is  from  such  concealment 

^  So  in  the  first  epistle  of  John,  from  another  point  of  view. 
You  have  come  to  Jesus,  you  are  born  of  God  ;  you  cannot  sin, 
because  the  seed  of  God  abideth  in  you. 

9  "  There  is  very  much  of  suspense  of  conscience  among  Chris- 
tians upon  subjects  of  practical  life,  upon  which  there  is  no 
suspense  of  ^zr/Zf;/."— Phelps. 


Sincerity  in  Drawinc^  Nigh  to  God.      5 1 

and  insincerity  that  the  mists  of  darkness  rise, 
the  clouds  which  obstruct  the  Hght  and  keep  us 
without  joy  and  strength. 

And  while  in  this  state,  let  us  not  deceive 
ourselves  with  "  objective  religion,"  or  looking 
away  from  self.  McCheyne  said,  "  that  for 
one  look  at  self  we  ought  to  take  ten  looks  at 
Christ."  Excellent  counsel  of  a  true  Israelite, 
in  whom  was  no  guile !  But  we  cannot  do 
without  that  one  look  at  our  heart,  at  our  ways. 
He  who  does  not  come  to  himself  \\\\\  not  go 
to  the  Father.  Can  we  ever  say,  "  Bless  the 
Lord,"  if  we  have  never  said,  "O  my  soul"  ? 

But  we  who  have  tasted  that  the  Lord  is 
gracious  can  draw  near  boldly,  pouring  out  all 
our  heart  before  the  throne  of  grace.  We 
know  that  it  is  not  merely  solemn,  but  blessed, 
to  confess  our  sin.^  We  pray  for  sincerity;  and 
mourning  over  our  insincerity,  we  bring  to  God 
the  broken  and  contrite  heart  which  He  will 
not  despise. 

H.  As  we  turn  from  sin,  so  we  turn  also  from 
woridliness.  Christ  has  delivered  us  from  this 
present  evil  age  ;  the  love  of  the  Father  from 

'  Nitzsch,  with  his  peculiar  conciseness  and  depth,  says  of 
confession  of  sin  :  ''  Nothing  is  so  truly  an  action,  and  a  suffer- 
ing, and  a  decision  of  the  will,  as  confessing  our  sin  to  God." 


5  2      Sincerity  in  Drawing  Nigh  to  God. 

the  love  of  the  world.  When  we  think  of  the 
birth  and  the  consummation  of  our  new  life, 
this  becomes  very  clear. 

The  hidden  life  has  its  root  and  birth  in  death. 
"  Ye  have  died  with  Christ,  and  your  life  is  hid 
with  Christ  in  God."  "  I  have  been  crucified 
with  Christ:  but  I  live  ;  yet  not  I,  Christ  liveth 
in  me."  The  hidden  life  has  its  consummation 
and  crown  in  the  second  advent  of  our  Lord  : 
"When  Christ,  who  is  our  life,  shall  appear, 
then  shall  ye  also  appear  with  Him  in  glory." 
The  boundary- lines  of  this  blessed  land  are 
therefore  the  cross  of  the  Lord  Jesus  and  the 
return  of  the  Bridegroom.  Do  you  think  that, 
with  such  a  starting-point  as  baptism  into  the 
Saviour's  death,  and  with  such  a  goal  as  the  mar- 
riage supper  of  the  Lamb,  Christians  can  love 
the  world  and  the  things  of  the  world  ? 

"  Draw  nigh  to  God."  The  call  implies  not 
merely  a  turning  away  from  sin,  but  also  from 
the  world.  Only  they  who  have  the  mind  of 
strangers  and  pilgrims  can  expect  to  have  fellow- 
ship with  Jesus.  "  They  are  not  of  the  world, 
even  as  I  am  not  of  the  world."  It  is  in  the 
wilderness,  and  not  in  Egypt,  that  the  Lord 
guides  His  people.  The  garden  into  which  the 
Beloved  enters  is  that  holy  garden,  planned  by 
eternal  love,  and  prepared  by  redeeming  grace, 


Sincerity  in  Drazuiiig  Nigh  to  God.      53 

by  Christ  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  If  led  captive  into 
Babylon,  the  Lord  will  comfort  all  who  mourn 
and  hang  their  harps  on  the  willows  ;  but  He  is 
far  from  all  who  forget  Jerusalem,  and  feel  at 
home  by  Babel's  streams.  The  Bridegroom  is 
with  the  chaste  virgin,  who  goes  forth  to  meet 
Him.  The  narrow  path,  commencing  with  the 
cross — "Ye  have  died  with  Christ" — ending 
with  the  glory  of  Jesus,  is  the  path  on  which  the 
Lord  draws  near  and  walks  with  His  disciples. 
All  the  epistles  describe  this  experience. 
There  may  be  difference  of  opinion  as  to 
apostolic  doctrines,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt 
as  to  the  nature  of  Christian  life  and  ex- 
perience ;  that  the  believer  is  separated  from 
sin  in  his  inmost  soul,  and  by  the  very  love 
which  redeemed  him  and  brought  unto  him 
complete  and  everlasting  forgiveness ;  that  the 
believer  is  one  with  Jesus,  and  that,  by  faith  in 
Christ's  death,  he  has  consigned  the  old  man, 
with  his  affections  and  lusts,  to  death,  even  the 
cross  ;  that  his  citizenship  is  now  in  heaven  ; 
that  he  is  dead  unto  the  world,  and  has  his 
affection  set  upon  things  above ;  and  that  he 
looks  forward  constantly  unto  the  return  of 
the  Master,  Of  this  all  the  apostolic  epistles 
testify  in  terms  most  unmistakeable.  I  can 
imagine  a  candid  reader  of  the    New   Testa- 


54     Sincerity  in  Drawiiig  Nigh  to  God. 

ment  object,  that  such  a  character  as  the 
Christian  must  needs  be  melancholy.  The 
critic  might  easily  object,  that  such  men  as 
•Christians  are  described  to  be,  would  not  be 
fit  for  the  work  and  not  inclined  for  the  amuse- 
ments of  the  world  ;  that  they  would  be  useless 
to  the  State  ;  that  they  would  take  no  interest 
in  war,  or  in  politics,  or  in  commerce,  or  in 
literature  and  art.  Such  objections,  though 
erroneous,  would  be  quite  natural.  And  if 
people  were  more  honest,  and  did  not  take 
it  for  granted  that  they  are,  and  must  be  re- 
garded as,  Christians,  such  objections  would  be 
more  frequently  raised.  We  have  not  laid 
sufficient  stress  on  the  unworldly  or  other- 
worldly character  of  the  Christian's  present  life. 
"  The  time  is  short,"  or,  as  the  original  means, 
the  time  is  shortened,  the  respite  limited,  the 
coming^  of  the  Lord  draweth  nis^h.  "It  remaineth 
that  both  they  that  have  wives  be  as  though 
they  had  none  ;  and  they  that  weep,  as  though 
they  wept  not ;  and  they  that  rejoice,  as  though 
they  rejoiced  not ;  and  they  that  buy,  as  though 
they  possessed  not ;  and  they  that  use  this 
world,  as  not  abusing  it ;  for  the  fashion  of  this 
world  passeth  away." 

But  the  Christian  is  called  to  live  in  the  world,^ 

-  Compare  my  work,  Christ  and  the  Chiwch,  chap.  vii. 


Sincerity  in  Drawing  Nigh  to  God.      55 

to  let  his  light  shine  before  men,  to  adorn  the 
doctrine  of  the  gospel  in  whatever  calling  he  is 
placed.  He  is  exhorted  to  look  upon  the  world 
as  the  field  where  the  seed  of  the  gospel  is  to 
be  sown,  where  the  character  of  Jesus  is  to  be 
manifested  by  His  followers,  and  where  God  is 
to  be  glorified.  He  is  to  conquer  by  faith  and 
love.  He  is  to  be  a  prophet,  priest,  and  king, 
teaching  truth  and  righteousness,  proclaiming 
peace,  and  offering  intercession,  living  in  a  royal 
spirit  above  the  distractions  and  anxieties  of 
time.  He  can  be  a  missionary  everywhere  : 
Christ  sends  him  into  the  world.  He  can  attain 
to  the  dignity  of  a  confessor  and  martyr,  though 
in  humility  and  meekness  he  does  not  seek  to 
rouse  opposition,  but  to  commend  himself  to  the 
conscience  of  all.  The  less  he  loves  the  world 
in  its  God-opposed  character,  the  more  he  truly 
loves  the  world,  and  is  a  blessing  to  those 
around  him. 

Turning  from  worldliness,  we  do  not  turn  to 
a  life  of  inactivity,  but  to  a  life  of  service. 
What  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?  is  the  question 
of  the  Christ-called  man.  The  Thessalonians 
turned  from  idols  to  serve  the  living  God.  We 
are  emancipated  from  the  fetters  of  sin  and  the 
world,  we  are  transplanted  into  the  kingdom 
of  God,  to  work  in  the  love  and  energy  of  our 


56     Sincerity  in  Drawing  Nigh  to  God. 

renewed  heart.  He  labours  most  abundantly 
who  realizes  most  fully  that  he  is  a  stranger 
and  pilgrim  on  earth,  that  he  is  not  a  citizen 
of  time,  but  that  eternity  is  his  home,  that  God 
is  his  portion. 

Let  all  whose  hearts  are  toward  the  Lord 
magnify  Him,  and  rejoice  in  God  their  Saviour. 
Lift  up  your  eyes  from  your  sin  and  misery  to 
the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Behold  the  manner  of  divine  love,  that  it  is 
fatherly !  See  it  in  its  motherly  tenderness, 
intensity,  and  constant  solicitude.  Rise  to  the 
exalted  and  confiding  dignity  of  friendship,  to 
which  Jesus  the  Son  of  God  has  called  you. 
Go  forth  with  all  the  saved  and  sanctified  to 
meet,  with  solemn  joy  and  hope,  the  Bride- 
groom. He  who  made  you  sorry  after  a  godly 
sort,  is  the  source  of  your  joy.  Rejoice,  and  be 
glad  in  Him.     Then  you  will  say — 

"  My  whole  desire  doth  deeply  turn  away 
Out  of  all  time  unto  eternal  day. 
I  give  myself,  and  all  I  call  my  own, 
To  Christ  for  ever,  to  be  His  alone." ^ 

Until  at  last  we  reach  our  home — • 

"  Then  long  Eternity  shall  greet  our  bliss 
With  an  individual  kiss, 
And  joy  shall  overtake  us  as  a  flood, 

3  Tersteegen. 


Sincerity  in  Drawing  Nigh  to  God.      57 

When  everything  that  is  sincerely  good 

And  perfectly  divine 

With  truth,  and  peace,  and  love,  shall  ever  shine 

About  the  supreme  throne 

Of  Him,  to  whose  happy-making  sight  alone, 

When  once  our  heav'nly-guided  soul  shall  climb. 

Then  all  this  earthly  grossness  quit, 

Attir'd  with  stars,  we  shall  for  ever  sit 

Triumphing  over  Death  and  Chance  and  thee,  O  Time."  •* 

"  Milton,  Ode  to  Time. 


CHAPTER   III. 

ENCOURAGEMENTS   TO    PRAYER. 

T  HAVE  endeavoured  to  explain  what  is 
-^  meant  by  drawing  nigh  unto  God.  Behold- 
ing the  two  inseparable  gifts  which  the  exalted 
Saviour  holds  in  His  pierced  hand,  repentance 
and  faith,  we  have  seen  what  is  meant  by  sin- 
cerity in  drawing  nigh  to  God,  a  true  turning 
away  from  sin  and  worldliness  unto  the  grace 
and  love  and  life  of  God,  which  in  a  crucified 
and  risen  Saviour  are  freely  given  to  us.  Let 
us  now  dwell  on  the  abundant  mercy,  the  over- 
flowing riches,  the  infinite  love,  awaiting  us 
when  we  draw  nigh  ;  the  atmosphere  of  free 
and  all-sufficient  grace  which  we  breathe  when 
we  approach  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  All  divine  revelations  encourage 
us  to  draw  nigh  to  God. 

It  is  man's  duty  to  draw  nigh  to  God. 
Reason  and  conscience  fully  admit  this.  The 
first  commandment,  and  the  foundation  of  all 
other  commandments,  is  to  worship  God.  But 
it  is  only  in  times  of  great  and  grievous  dulness 


EficoiLragements  to  Prayer.  59 

that  the  believer  regards  prayer  as  a  duty,  and 
not  as  a  privilege.  What  higher  dignity,  what 
greater  and  more  precious  gift  could  we  possibly 
possess  ?  ^  "  Behold,  what  manner  of  love  the 
Father  hath  bestowed  upon  us." 

In  every  place,  and  at  all  times,  we  may  come 
into  His  presence.  In  the  name  of  Jesus  we 
appear  before  His  throne  of  grace,  and  He 
beholds  us  in  Him,  and  loves  us  as  His  chil- 
dren. Though  we  cannot  express  in  words 
what  our  souls  desire  and  long  for,  we  know 
that  He  interprets  and  hears  the  language  of 
our  heart.  To  Him  we  may  confide  what  we 
could  intrust  to  no  human  friend ;  where  all 
earthly  help  is  of  no  avail,  we  can  ask  His 
almighty  succour.  The  thoughts  and  doubts 
which  rise  within  us  we  can  spread  out  before 

^  "  What  wond'rous  grace  !     Who  knows  its  full  extent  ? 
A  creature,  dust  and  ashes,  speaks  with  God — 
Tells  all  his  woes,  enumerates  his  wants, 
Yea,  pleads  with  Deity,  and  gains  relief. 
'Tis  prayer,  yes,  'tis  'effectual,  fervent  prayer,' 
Puts  dignity  on  worms,  proves  life  divine, 
Makes  demons  tremble,  breaks  the  darkest  cloud, 
And  with  a  princely  power  prevails  with  God ! 
And  shall  this  privilege  become  a  task? 
My  God,  forbid!     Pour  out  thy  Spirit's  grace. 
Draw  me  by  love,  and  teach  me  hovv'  to  pray. 
Yea,  let  Thy  hoiy  unction  from  above 
Beget,  extend,  maintain  my  intercourse 
With  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit,  Israel's  God, 
Until  petitions  are  exchanged  for  praise." — IRONS. 


6o  Encouragements  to  Prayer. 

Him,  to  sift,  to  correct,  to  change  them  ;  the 
sorrow  that  hes  too  deep  for  human  ministry 
we  can  bring  to  Love,  omnipotent  and  all-com- 
passionate. And  we  know  that  we  can  never 
weary  Him  with  our  approach,  and  that  not  one 
thought  or  petition  will  be  overlooked  by  Him  ; 
all  good  that  we  ask  will  be  granted  abundantly, 
and  with  overflowing  and  tender  mercies.  And 
this  is  not  all.  Had  we  no  petitions  to  offer,  no 
gifts,  no  consolations,  no  deliverances  to  ask, 
what  a  privilege  is  prayer,  were  it  merely  to 
stand  before  the  Lord,  to  be  in  the  presence  of 
the  Holy  and  Blessed  One,  to  behold  with  open 
face  His  glory,  and  to  know  that  He  sees  and 
loves  us,  and  that,  through  the  blood  of  Christ, 
we  have  been  brought  into  the  circle  of  eternal 
life — one  with  all  angels  and  saints  ! 

Still  we  often  feel  lassitude  in  prayer,  and 
our  hearts  seem  heavy,  and  not  willing  or  able 
to  rise  into  this  serene  and  bright  region. 
The  Lord  Jesus,  the  heavenly  Wisdom  and 
the  true  lover  of  men,  counsels  us  always  to 
pray,  and  not  to  faint.  Is  not  our  tendency 
always  to  faint,  and  not  to  pray  ?  If  we  went 
to  God  with  our  cares  and  difficulties,  with  our 
sorrows  and  fears,  aye,  even  with  our  apathy 
and  sluggishness  of  mind  and  heart,  we  should 
obtain  calmness,   patience,   strength.       Instead 


EncoiLragenioits  to  Prayer.  6i 

of  this,  we  go  about  weak,  unhappy,  with  self- 
consuming  care  and  self-reproach,  in  which 
there  is  no  recuperative  power.  Our  dis- 
inclination to  pray  is  our  most  painful  expe- 
rience ;  it  is  so  irrational  and  unaccountable. 
When  we  neglect  prayer,  a  heavy  weight  is  on 
our  mind  and  heart ;  we  anticipate,  we  ex- 
aggerate difficulties,  we  succumb  to  them  ;  there 
is  a  cloud  between  us  and  our  fellow-men  ; 
there  is  a  cloud  and  veil  between  us  and  our 
heart ;  we  have,  as  it  were,  lost  it,  even  as  we 
find  our  heart  in  approaching  God. 

"  Prayer  makes  the  darkened  cloud  withdraw  ; 
Prayer  climbs  the  ladder  Jacob  saw  ; 
Gives  exercise  to  faith  and  love, 
Brings  every  blessing  from  above." 

We  are  convinced  of  this  ;  we  have  experienced 
it.^     And  yet  how  often  we  feel  unwilling  to 

^  "  Lord,  what  a  change  within  us  one  short  hour 
Spent  in  Thy  presence  will  prevail  to  make, 
What  heavy  burdens  from  our  bosoms  take, 
What  parched  grounds  refresh,  as  with  a  shower ! 
We  kneel,  and  all  around  us  seems  to  lower ; 
W^e  rise,  and  all  the  distant  and  the  near 
Stands  forth  in  sunny  outline,  brave  and  clear ; 
We  kneel,  how  weak  !  we  rise,  how  full  of  power ! 
Why,  therefore,  should  we  do  ourselves  this  wrong, 
Or  others,  that  we  are  not  always  strong, 
That  we  are  ever  overborne  with  care. 
That  we  should  ever  weak  or  heartless  be. 
Anxious  or  troubled,  when  with  us  is  prayer. 
And  joy,  and  strength,  and  courage  are  with  Thee?" 

Trench. 


62  EncoiLragcnients  to  Prayer. 

pray,  disinclined  to  go  to  Him  who  is  all- 
glorious  and  all-good,  who  never  receives  us 
with  harshness  or  indifference,  who  is  always 
ready  to  bless,  to  comfort,  and  to  help !  Some- 
times, even  when  we  have  abundance  of  leisure 
and  solitude,  when  God  in  His  providence 
seems  to  invite  us  to  speak  to  Him,  we  feel 
this  apathy.  And  yet  we  know  that  God  re- 
gards even  a  look — hears  even  the  desire  of  heart 
unuttered ;  that  not  even  words  are  needful. 
Let  us  be  deeply  humbled,  but  let  us  not  sink 
into  despondency.  Hear  the  voice:  "Draw 
nigh  to  God !"  Let  us  dwell  frequently  on  the 
encouragements  to  draw  nigh  to  God. 

God  draws  ;  Satan  only  tempts.^  All  the  evil 
influences  which  seek  to  prevent  our  approach 
to  God  do  not  deserve  to  be  compared  with 
the  attractive  power  of  God.  I  dare  not  speak 
lightly  of  the  innate  love  of  sin  and  the  world, 
or  of  the  tendency  of  fallen  human  hearts  to 
gravitate  to  the  earth,  or  of  the  force  of  habit, 
or  of  the  fascinations  of  that  enchanted  ground, 
this  present  age,  which  lulls  us  to  sleep,  or  of 
the  subtilty  and  power  of  Satan.  No ;  these 
are  great  and  potent  influences,  but  nothing 
when  contrasted  with  God.     Satan  and  all  evil 

3  Compare  context,  v.  7,  "  Resist  the  devil,  and  he  will  flee 
from  you." 


Encoitragcmeiits  to  Prayer.  63 

under  and  with  him  cannot  prevail.  Satan  is 
powerful,  but  not  omnipotent ;  he  is  cunning, 
but  neither  omniscient  nor  wise.  He  has  an 
ally  within  us,  even  sin  ;  but  he  has  never  yet 
understood  a  human  heart.  God  alone  can 
search  the  heart;  He  alone  can  draw  it,  can 
open,  can  melt,  can  fill  it.  Satan  has  no  right, 
no  claim  on  me,  on  my  nature,  on  my  will,  on 
my  affection.  However  wicked  and  polluted  a 
human  being  may  be,  it  is  not  his  nature  to  be 
evil.  And  thouofh  he  be  so  degraded  as  to 
feed  the  swine  in  the  far  country,  that  dark 
citizen  has  no  real  claim  on  him,  and  no  true 
affinity  with  him.  Man's  heart  was  created  for 
the  love  of  God,  and  will  only  be  happy  there. 
The  eye  of  his  soul  was  made  to  behold  the 
sun,  and  to  rejoice  in  the  light.  And  fallen 
though  he  be,  his  very  misery  proves  his 
original  grandeur.  Let  us  remember  that  God 
created  man  in  His  image.  Let  us  never  forget 
that  at  the  ri^ht  hand  of  God  is  the  man  Christ 
Jesus.  Let  us  behold  ourselves,  not  in  the 
wreck  and  ruin  of  our  fallen  condition,  not  in 
the  mirror  of  the  world  and  of  Satan,  but  in 
the  mirror  of  the  hope  of  resurrection,  when 
the  purpose  of  God  shall  be  fulfilled  in  us,  and 
we  shall  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  His  Son. 
When  the  transforming  power  of  the  precious 


64  Encouragements  to  Prayer. 

blood  of  Christ  shall  be  made  manifest  on  the 
resurrection  morn,  there  shall  arise  with  trans- 
figured and  spiritual  bodies,  true  human  beings, 
full  of  love  and  truth,  without  a  single  spot, 
blemish,  or  wrinkle,  holy  and  pure  like  Christ. 
If  it  be  so,  look  upon  evil  as  judged,  condemned, 
and  slain  ;  upon  Satan  as  bound  and  cast  out. 
He  cannot  draw ;  he  cannot  reach  the  inmost 
depth  of  your  self ;  he  has  no  right  over  you ; 
he  has  no  power  except  the  power  you  give  him. 
Only  resist,  only  show  your  face  as  conscious  of 
your  divine  origin,  only  adore  God,  and  Satan, 
powerless  and  abashed,  will  flee  from  you.  There 
is  no  real  connection  between  us  and  Satan.^ 

Oh,  how  different  is  it  with  God !  He  is  the 
magnet.  We  are  His  offspring.  He  is  able  to 
dwell  in  us,  and  to  make  us  dwell  in  Him.  He 
draws  with  an  irresistible  power,  and  yet  He 
does  not  force  or  compel  us.  He  sets  us  free 
when  His  love  subdues  our  heart.     He  restores 

''  Cowper  says, 

"  Satan  trembles  when  he  sees 
The  weakest  saint  upon  his  knees." 
This  may  seem  to  contradict  our  experience.  Satan  is  busy 
tempting  and  distracting  us  when  we  approach  God.  And  this 
also  belongs  to  the  various  hindrances  we  meet  in  drawing  to 
the  mercy-seat.  But  when  we  have  overcome  these  difficulties, 
when  we  have  really  got  access  to  the  throne  of  God,  when  we 
are  within,  when  we  pray  in  praying,  then  it  is  that  our 
enemies  cannot  reach  and  harm  us.  Yet  even  then  let  us 
rejoice  with  fear  and  trembling,  with  humility  and  watchfulness. 


Encoiiragemejiis  to  Prayer.  65 

us  when  He  takes  possession  of  our  souls  ;  for 
of  Him  and  through  Him  and  to  Him  are  all 
things.  He  is  our  rightful  Lord,  He  alone  the 
King,  whose  it  is  to  rule  ;  and  His  rule  is  love. 
And  as  to  Satan,  so  to  sin  and  the  world, 
and  all  things  of  time  and  sense,  you  can  say  : 
Think  not  of  holding  me.  I  belong  not  to  you  ; 
I  no  longer  gravitate  downward.  Christ  has 
redeemed  me  and  rescued  me,  and  lifted  me  up 
to  Himself,  and,  like  all  angels  and  saints,  heaven 
is  my  home,  eternity  is  my  element,  God  is  my 
centre — I  draw  nigh  to  God.  All  in  God  draws 
me  ;  everything  within  and  around  drives  me 
to  the  throne  of  grace.  I  am  ignorant,  and 
know  not  what  a  day  may  bring  forth.  "  How 
unsearchable  are  God's  judgments,  and  His 
ways  past  finding  out!"  Shall  I  not  draw  nigh 
to  infinite  wisdom,  to  the  great  Sovereign,  and 
say,  "Guide  me,  O  thou  great  Jehovah!"  I 
am  helpless  ;  I  cannot  do  that  which  is  least ;  I 
cannot  add  an  inch  to  my  stature.  Shall  I  not 
go  to  Him,  without  whose  will  not  a  sparrow 
can  fall  to  the  ground,  who  numbers  the  very 
hairs  of  my  head,  and  ask  Him  to  watch,  defend, 
and  strengthen  me  ?  Shall  I  not  commit  to 
Him  every  thing,  great  and  small  ?  I  think  of 
God's  pity  and  compassion,  of  His  bounteous 
liberality,  of  His  joy  and  delight  in  giving  and 

F 


66  Encouragements  to  Prayer. 

consoling,  and  shall  I  hesitate  to  ask,  to  pour 
out  my  complaints,  to  mourn  before  Him  ?  I 
think  of  His  fatherly  omniscience,  omnipotence, 
and  love,  and  I  lay  before  Him  my  sins,  my 
failures,  my  disappointments  and  defeats  in  the 
fight  of  faith.  I  humble  myself,  and  yet  do  not 
feel  degraded  ;  I  confess  my  sins,  and  I  know 
it  will  not  alter  or  diminish  His  love  to  me,  or 
cause  Him  to  doubt  me  for  the  future,  and  to 
withhold  from  me  His  gifts.  What  earthly 
father  would  make  an  ungenerous  use  of  the 
confidence  of  a  child,  and  of  his  complaints 
over  the  evil  he  finds  in  his  heart  ? 

But  our  chief  encourao^ement,  the  orreat  and 
unanswerable  argument,  the  bright  light  before 
which  all  shadows  and  doubts  vanish,  is  the 
love  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus.  Who  of  us  would 
ever  have  ventured  to  ask  of  God  such  a  gift, 
such  a  sacrifice,  as  of  His  own  spontaneous  and 
infinite  love  He  made  in  the  sending  of  His 
own  Son,  and  delivering  Him  up  unto  death  ? 
Could  any  creature  have  imagined  such  love, 
or  been  bold  enough  to  supplicate  such  mercy  } 
When  God  has  thus  given  the  best  and  greatest 
gift,  when  He  spared  not  Him  who  was  un- 
speakably more  precious  to  Him  than  all  finite 
creatures,  how  can  we  ever  doubt  His  love  to 
us.  His  delight  in  our  salvation  and  blessedness.'^ 


Encouragements  to  Prayer.  67 

All  of  the  Godhead  that  can  be  known  is 
manifested  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  calls  unto  us, 
Draw  nigh  to  God  ;  for  God  has  drawn  nigh 
to  you  in  love  ! 

Jesus  not  merely  reveals  God,  the  hearer  of 
prayer.  He  is  also  our  Mediator.  Jesus  was  a 
Man  of  prayer ;  He  prayed  without  ceasing ; 
and  yet  He  had  special  seasons  of  drawing 
nigh  unto  His  heavenly  Father.  The  evangelist 
Luke,  who  dwells  emphatically  on  the  humanity 
of  Christ,  speaks  frequently  of  the  Saviour's 
prayers.  Twice  we  read  of  the  Lord  going 
out  into  a  wilderness  or  solitary  place,  and  twice 
into  a  mountain,  to  pray.  We  read  of  his  con- 
tinuing all  night  in  prayer  to  God. 

Jesus  teaches  us  to  pray.  The  Son  of  God 
knows  the  Father's  heart,  and  what  He  is  willing 
to  grant ;  the  Son  of  man  knows  the  human 
heart,  and  what  we  need  ;  and  as  He  came  to 
be  not  merely  our  Mediator,  but  our  Head,  He 
brings  us  into  communion  with  Himself;  so  that 
we  pray  in  His  name,  in  unison  with  His  inter- 
cession in  our  behalf,  and  in  sympathy  with  His 
earthly  experience.  For  when  Jesus,  in  reply 
to  the  request,  "  Lord,  teach  us  to  pray,"  gave 
us  the  model  prayer.  He  gave  it  out  of  His  own 
constant  experience.  How  did  Jesus  pray  ?  He 
prayed  to  the  Father  in  the  full  consciousness 


68  Encouragements  to  Prayer. 

that  He  came  from  God,  and  was  going  again 
to  His  Father  ;  in  perfect  trust  and  love  ;  in  the 
spirit  of  Sonship.  He  prayed  as  the  Brother, 
in  the  spirit  of  fraternal  and  priestly  love ;  He, 
who  was  always  in  heaven,  realized  the  majesty, 
grandeur,  riches,  holiness,  and  power  of  the 
Father.  He  prayed  in  the  royal  and  free  spirit 
to  the  Father  in  heaven — our  Father  in  heaven. 
Put  your  hand  into  Christ's  hand,  and  your 
spirit,  let  it  be  folded  within  His.  He  is  the 
only-begotten  Son,  and  says,  "  Father  ;"  you  are 
adopted  in  Him,  and  the  spirit  of  adoption 
within  you  says,  "  Father."  He  loved  His  own; 
He  was  full  of  love  towards  all ;  He  had  the 
Saviour- mind,  the  Shepherd-heart,  towards  all, 
especially  towards  them  that  believe.  Then, 
like  Him,  say,  Our;  let  your  heart  expand 
towards  all  you  love,  and  the  Church,  and  the 
world,  and  to  the  filial  spirit  add  the  fraternal. 
Hiofh  above  earth  is  the  Source  of  all  blessing, 
power,  and  peace,  the  Treasury  which  can  never 
be  exhausted — the  glorious  fulness  and  riches 
of  God.  Look  up  above  all  difficulties,  sorrows, 
and  wants  of  time,  and  doubt  not  that  all  is 
well,  and  all  will  end  in  perfection  and  peace. 
Now  if  Jesus  has  thus  enabled  me  to  say, 
Father,  and  our,  and  in  heaven,  I  understand 
the  seven  petitions,  and  sympathise  with  them. 


Encourage77ients  to  Prayer.  69 

Jesus  came  to  declare  the  Father's  name,  to 
estabhsh  His  kingdom,  to  redeem  and  restore 
earth.  Is  not  this  what  I  need  ?  is  not  this 
that  wherein  God  is  glorified  ?  So  let  me  desire 
for  myself,  for  the  brethren,  for  all,  the  Name, 
the  kingdom,  the  will  of  God,  His  Name  is  a 
strong  tower — the  refuge  of  a  poor  and  needy- 
sinner  ;  it  is  a  golden  harp — full  of  melody  ;  it 
is  a  precious  ointment — fragrant ;  to  know  it  is 
eternal  life.  His  kingdom  is  righteousness, 
peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  when  it 
is  come,  it  will  be  a  manifest  reign  and  glory  on 
earth.  His  will  is  my  salvation  and  sanctifica- 
tion  ;  His  will  is  to  work  in  me  both  to  will  and 
to  do.  The  fulfilment  of  these  petitions  involved 
His  bitter  sufferings  and  His  agony  on  the 
cross  ;  for  in  the  death  of  Jesus  the  name  of 
God  is  fully  declared,  the  love  of  God  is  revealed 
and  secured.  If  Jesus  had  not  worn  the  crown 
of  thorns,  if  He  had  not  been  lifted  up  to  the 
cross,  how  could  the  kingdom  ever  be  established 
on  our  sinful  and  enthralled  earth  }  And  how 
could  God's  will  be  realized  unless  Jesus  had 
first  come  "  to  do  God's  will,"  even  the  eternal 
counsel,  which  appointed  Him  to  be  the  Lamb 
slain  for  us  }  How  difficult,  then,  were  these 
petitions  for  Jesus!  how  easy  are  they  for  us! 
and  yet  how  sincerely,  how  ardently  He  desired 


70  E7ico2iragements  to  Prayer. 

them!     Will  you  hesitate  to  offer  the  blood- 
boug-ht  petitions  ? 

Has  the  soul  thus  mounted  into  the  golden 
heights,  then,  centred  in  God,  delighting  itself  in 
the  Lord,  it  is  anxious  about  nothing,  but  with- 
prayer  and  supplication  makes  known  its  wants 
unto  the  Father.  Jesus  had  not  where  to  lay 
His  head;  He  needed  food  and  raiment  and 
shelter,  and  sometimes  a  piece  of  money  to  pay 
tribute.  And  He  felt  responsible  for  the  dear 
disciples  who  had  left  all  and  followed  Him; 
so  He  said  to  the  Father,  "  Give  us  this  day 
our  daily  bread."  And  did  the  disciples  ever 
lack  while  they  were  with  Him  ?  So  may  and 
must  we  pray  for  our  bodily  and  temporal 
wants,  in  the  spirit  of  contentment,  of  charity, 
and  of  faith — bread,  our  bread,  to-day ;  in  the 
spirit  of  moderation,  and  not  hasting  to  be  rich  ; 
of  liberality,  and  not  thinking  merely  of  self; 
of  calmness,  without  feverish  anxiety  for  the 
future.  Here  come  in  all  petitions  for  health, 
for  work,  for  direction  and  prosperity  in  our 
daily  occupations. 

But  the  Saviour  felt  the  burden  of  the  world's 
sin.  Sinless  and  pure  Himself,  He  saw  iniquity 
abounding.  He  saw  His  own  disciples  con- 
tinually trespassing.  And  what  was  His  desire  ? 
On  the  cross  He  prayed  for  His  enemies,  and 


Encoiiragenients  to  Prayej'.  71 

all  the  patience  and  long-suffering  of  God  are 
based  upon  Christ's  mediation.  The  petition  of 
Christ  is,  that  sinners  may  so  know  and  expe- 
rience the  forgiving  love  of  God  as  to  become 
themselves  forgiving  and  merciful ;  that  since 
sin  has  entered,  the  healing  and  restoring  grace 
of  salvation  may  bring  pardon  and  peace  to  the 
children  of  men.  And  then  He  thinks  of  the 
dangers  and  temptations  and  the  evil  with  which 
His  people  have  to  contend  as  long  as  they  are 
in  the  body.  He  commends  them  to  God's 
guidance;  He  asks  for  deliverance  and  victory. 
And  thus  He  returns  into  the  bosom  of  His 
Father,  to  fulness  of  rest  and  joy,  in  the  blessed 
assurance  of  a  perfect  answer;  for  Himself  is 
the  Amen.  So  are  we  to  pray  for  forgiveness 
of  our  daily  offences,  and  immediately  vow  to 
the  Lord  to  put  on,  as  the  elect  of  God,  bowels 
of  mercy,  forgiving  and  forbearing.  We  are 
to  pray  against  temptation,  and  for  deliverance 
from  evil  ;  and  we  are  to  conclude  with  a  firm 
conviction  and  peaceful  assurance  of  God's 
answer.  As  is  your  Amen,  so  has  been  your 
prayer.  Prayer  in  the  name  of  Christ  ends 
with  a  calm  and  joyous  Amen  ;  for  Jesus  Him- 
self is  the  Amen  of  God,  in  whom  all  promises 
and  gifts  of  God  are  sealed. 

Learn  then  to  pray  with  Christ,  in  harmony 


'J  2  JSncotiragemejits  to  Prayer. 

with  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  the  great  Mediator 
and  Head  of  the  family,  and  you  will  not 
merely  pray  in  His  name,  you  will  also  live  in 
Christ's  name.  If  we  pray  after  this  manner 
we  shall  possess  faith,  love,  hope ;  we  shall 
commune  with  our  own  hearts,  and  examine 
ourselves ;  ours  will  be  an  unworldly  and  calm 
spirit ;  we  shall  be  grave,  watchful,  solemn,  yet 
rejoicing  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God  ;  gentle 
and  lowly,  forgiving  and  forbearing.  Like  Jesus  ! 
Oh, brethren,  is  God  Father?  is  Jesus  the  Lamb? 
is  the  Spirit  a  Dove  ?  and  are  we  to  be  and 
to  remain  proud,  selfish,  hard,  easily  provoked, 
and  earthly-minded  ?  Oh  let  us  draw  nigh  to 
God,  and  be  the  children  of  the  Most  High ! 

Be  encouraged,  and  let  not  your  hearts  be 
straitened. 

"  Lo,  the  great  High  Priest  ascended, 
Pleads  the  merit  of  His  blood." 

He  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  you. 
Before  you  approach  the  throne  of  grace  He 
has  already  mentioned  your  name  to  the  Father; 
before  your  feeble  voice  is  lifted  up  His  all- 
prevailing  intercession  is  heard  of  God.  See 
the  incense  of  the  Lord's  intercession  and  your 
prayer  will  rise  up  with  and  in  His  prayer,  a 
sweet  savour  unto  the  Father.  And  doubt  not, 
but  believe,  that  the  Lord  heareth  His  Anointed. 


Encoii7'aocmcnts  to  Prayer.  73 

"  High  Priest  of  the  Church  Dispensation, 
Lift  up,  we  pray.  Thy  pierced  hand, 
And  bless  Thy  ransomed  congregation 

In  every  place,  by  sea  and  land. 
Before  Thy  Father's  face  remember 
By  name  each  individual  member  ; 
Thy  face  now  on  us  shine, 
Grant  us  Thy  peace  divine  ; 
For  we  are  thine."  ^ 

How  frequently  God  commands  and  encour- 
ages us  to  draw  nigh  to  Him !  He  never 
blames  the  importunity  and  perseverance  of 
prayer.  We  cannot  ask  too  much,  or  too  often, 
or  too  earnestly.  How  often  does  He  even 
mourn  over  Israel's  want  of  prayer  and  be- 
lieving supplication  ?  If  they  only  had  asked 
Him,  He  would  soon  have  vanquished  their 
enemies,  He  would  gladly  have  enriched  them 
with  His  gifts.  So  does  God  condescend  to 
our  language,  to  assure  us  that  He  delights  in 
hearing  our  prayer.  And  if  He  seems  not  to 
hear,  or  to  chide,  or  to  refuse,  it  is  only  to 
prepare  you  for  a  fuller  and  more  gracious 
answer.  Be  not  discouraged.  Have  you  asked, 
and  is  God  silent  ?  Perhaps  you  are  one  of  the 
chosen,  who  are  specially  near  to  Him.  Re- 
member how  he  said  to  Mary,  What  have  I  to 
do  with  thee  ?     And  wait.  He  will  soon  show 

s  Moravian  Hymn. 


74  E7icoiiragC7nents  to  Prayer. 

forth  His  glory  and  gladden  your  heart.  Re- 
member how  He  was  silent  to  the  Syro- 
phenician  woman,  and  then  refused  her,  as  not 
belonging  to  the  chosen  people,  and  called  her 
doo^,  and  how  after  these  dark  clouds  the  sun 
burst  forth  so  brightly.  "  O  woman,  great  is 
thy  faith,"  He  exclaimed  with  joyous  admiration 
and  omnipotent  grace.  Remember  how  He 
made  as  if  He  would  go  further,  and  yet  was 
so  easily  constrained  to  join  with  the  disciples  ; 
how  He  made  Himself  known  in  the  breaking 
of  bread.  Remember  how  Paul  besought  Him 
thrice,  and  there  was  given  him  far  more  and 
better  than  he  asked  :  "  My  grace  is  sufficient 
for  thee  ;  for  my  strength  is  made  perfect  in 
weakness."      Draw  niofh  to  God. 

We  are  encouraged  to  draw  nigh  to  God  by 
all  the  saints  o{  God,  whose  history  is  recorded 
in  Scripture.  All  the  stars  that  shine  in  the 
firmament  for  ever  were  once  men  of  like 
passions  as  we  are,  struggling,  sinful,  suffering 
believers.  What  shall  we  say  of  Abraham  our 
father  ?  Is  he  not  called  the  friend  of  God  ? 
Was  not  his  life  of  faith  a  life  of  childlike, 
reverent,  and  trustful  prayer  ?  How  did  Jacob 
become  Israel  but  by  wrestling  with  the  angel  ? 
Why  did  the  countenance  of  Moses  shine  but 
because  he  had  been  on  the  mount  of  God  ? 


Encouragements  to  Prayej^.  75 

How  did  he  lead  Israel  through  the  Red  Sea 
but  by  faith,  because,  although  his  lips  were 
silent,  his  heart  cried  unto  the  Lord  ?  The 
harp  of  David  still  sounds  in  our  ear ;  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  has  crystallized  for  us  the  prayers 
and  praises  of  the  son  of  Jesse.  Some  one  said 
that  architecture  was  music  frosted.  The  Psalms 
are  the  music  of  the  heart,  sometimes  plaintive 
and  sad,  sometimes  joyous  and  jubilant,  some- 
times full  of  anguish  and  darkness,  sometimes 
tranquil  and  happy — the  music  of  David's  soul 
preserved  by  the  Spirit,  that  hearing  it  we  may 
feel  encouraged  to  draw  nigrh  to  God.  Daniel 
was  a  man  greatly  beloved,  and  of  great  desire. 
The  highest  position,  in  the  greatest  and  most 
complicated  monarchy,  did  not  keep  him  from 
daily,  frequent  supplication.  What  explains  to 
us  the  secret  of  Paul's  wisdom,  zeal,  love, 
success,  and  strength  in  suffering,  but  his  prayer 
without  ceasing,  his  constant  bowing  the  knees 
of  his  heart  before  God  ?  All  the  saints  of 
God  who  are  now  in  glory  have  only  one  secret 
to  tell  us,  only  one,  "  Draw  nigh  to  God,  and 
He  will  draw  nigh  to  you." 

I  think  of  the  whole  history  of  Israel.  How 
often  they  forgat  God,  the  Rock  of  their  salva- 
tion. But  whenever  they  cried  unto  Him,  He 
heard  them  ;   He  never  failed.     He  never  dealt 


76  Encoiu^agements  to  Prayer. 

with  them  accordiiiQf  to  their  sins.  He  forgot 
their  ingratitude  ;  but  He  remembered  His 
covenant  with  Abraham,  His  tender  mercies 
and  compassion.  What  an  illustration  of  the 
words  of  James  :  "If  any  man  lack  wisdom, 
let  him  ask  of  God,  who  giveth  to  all  simply, 
and  upbraideth  not,  and  it  shall  be  given  him." 
"The  giving  God,  who  giveth  simply,"  (i.  5.) 
He  giveth  just  because  He  is  asked,  in  all 
simplicity,  and  in  giving  upbraideth  not  for 
our  past  ingratitude  and  sin. 

Dear  children,  draw  nigh  to  Jesus.  Many 
prayers  have  been  offered  up  for  you  by  parents 
and  teachers  and  friends;  without  your  knowing 
it,  you  have  been  often  carried  before  the  Lord, 
that  He  may  bless  you.  Now  that  you  can 
understand  the  words  of  the  Saviour,  "  Suffer 
little  children  to  come  unto  Me,"  draw  nigh  to 
God.  Do  not  wait  till  you  are  grown  up.  To 
draw  nigh  to  God,  it  is  not  necessary  for  children 
to  become  old  ;  it  is  necessary  for  the  old  to 
become  children.  Before  God  we  are  all  little, 
ignorant,  weak ;  alas !  we  are  all  sinful,  selfish, 
and  guilty.  But  just  as  we  are  we  come,  and 
He  forgives  us  for  Jesus'  sake,  and  renews  our 
hearts.  When  Solomon  asked  God  for  a  wise 
and  understanding  heart,  God  was  pleased,  and 


Encottrage77ients  to  Pimycr.  77 

told  him  that  He  had  given  it  to  him  because 
he  asked  it.  If  you  really  ask  God  for  a  new 
heart,  He  will  give  you  a  new  heart.  Children, 
draw  nigh  to  God.      Remember — 

"  Around  the  throne  of  God  in  heaven 
Thousands  of  children  stand  ;" 

and  of  them  it  is  said — 

"  On  earth  they  sought  the  Lord  by  prayer." 

Draw  nigh  to  God,  that  so  you  may  dread  the 
grave  as  little  as  your  bed.  Draw  nigh  to  God, 
that  you  may  live  a  happy  and  useful  life. 
Children  who  come  to  God,  are  often  spared 
a  long  time  on  earth  to  serve  Him.  Samuel 
drew  nigh  to  God  when  he  was  a  little  child  : 
"Speak,  Lord;  for  thy  servant  heareth  ;"  and 
he  was  a  prophet  and  ruler  in  Israel  for  ninety 
years. 

"  Now  that  my  journey 's  but  begun, 
My  course  so  Httle  trod, 
I'll  stay,  before  I  further  run, 
And  give  myself  to  God." 

Young  people,  draw  nigh  to  God.  None 
ever  regretted  that  in  his  youth  he  sought  God 
and  found  Him.  Strange  to  say,  even  those 
who  have  afterwards  forgotten  God  and  become 
unbelievers  think  that  religion  is  good,  salutary, 
and  necessary  for  the  young ;  and  if  they  can 


yS  Encouragements  to  Prayer. 

look  back  on  a  childhood  and  youth  of  prayer, 
they  are  not  ashamed  of  it.  Ah  !  believe  it, 
that  now  is  the  time  for  you  to  draw  nigh  to 
God,  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  Wisdom,  to  bend 
your  wayward  and  restless  heart  to  the  sweet 
will  of  God  our  Saviour,  to  be  built  on  the 
Rock  of  ages,  and  to  take  hold  of  the  promises 
of  God,  which  are  yea  and  Amen  in  Christ 
Jesus.  Draw  nigh  to  God,  that  He  may  give 
you  a  heart  to  love  and  serve  Him,  that  He 
may  graft  you  a  living  branch  into  the  true 
Vine.  No  principle  will  ever  make  you  happy, 
or  give  you  strength  to  resist  temptation  ;  you 
need  Jesus  Himself.  You  have  read  the  story 
of  Hercules,  and  the  choice  between  the  narrow 
path  of  virtue  and  the  broad  way  of  pleasure. 
This  was  the  best  the  ancient  world  knew. 
They  knew  nothing  of  conversion,  of  a  crucified 
Saviour,  who  not  merely  shows  the  way,  but 
who  is  the  way,  who  by  His  love  makes  us 
love  Him,  and  who  Himself  is  our  life  and 
strength.  What  a  blessed  thing  for  you  that 
you  know  of  Jesus,  if  by  Him  you  draw  nigh 
to  God ! 

You  parents,  God  has  placed  part  of  His 
crown  on  your  heads,  and  commanded  the 
children  to  honour  and  obey  you.  Go  for  them 
and  with  them  to  the  throne  of  grace.     You 


Encoiwageuients  to  Prayer.  79 

who  are  in  the  active  duties  and  various  trials 
of  hfe,  draw  nigh  to  God.  As  you  grow  older, 
do  not  become  colder,  but  more  fervent.  Seek 
not  great  things,  either  for  yourselves  or  your 
children,  and  beware  of  the  worldly  spirit. 

Remember  that  man's  life  does  not  consist  in 
what  he  has,  but  in  what  he  is.  Serve  Jesus  and 
the  Church.  Oh,  let  not  the  best  years  of  your 
life  be  years  in  which  you  have  little  communion 
with  God,  and  in  which  you  do  little  for  Christ ! 
"  Lay  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in  heaven." 
Let  not  your  biography  be  summed  up  :  "He 
turned  to  God  in  his  youth,  he  then  became 
lukewarm,  being  engrossed  in  the  cares  and  the 
business  and  the  social  demands  of  the  world, 
and  a  short  time  before  his  death  he  saw  his 
mistake,  and  felt  that  one  thing  was  needful. 
For  years  his  spiritual  life  was  barely  sustained 
by  the  prayers  of  friends  and  the  weekly  ser- 
vices of  the  sanctuary.  He  might  have  been  a 
pillar  in  the  Church,  but  he  was  only  a  weight." 
This  be  far  from  you.  Oh,  serve  the  Lord  with 
gladness,  be  strong,  quit  yourselves  like  men, 
and  abound  in  the  work  of  the  Lord !  "  Draw 
nio-h  to  God." 

o 

And  you,  aged  pilgrims,  honoured  and  beloved, 
draw  nigh  to  God  ;  and  though  it  is  evening, 
and  the  day  is  far  spent,  Jesus  will  make  all 


8o  EncoiLvageuients  to  Prayer. 

shadows  flee  away,  and  your  hearts  will  burn 
with  love  and  joy.  God  renews  our  youth.  Of 
Moses  it  is  written  :  "  And  Moses  was  an  hun- 
dred and  twenty  years  old  when  he  died  :  his 
eye  was  not  dim,  nor  his  natural  force  abated." 
And  Caleb,  who  followed  the  Lord  fully,  said  to 
the  people  of  Israel,  when  he  was  eighty  and 
five  years  old  :  "  As  yet  I  am  as  strong  this  day 
as  I  was  in  the  day  that  Moses  sent  me."  ® 
Spiritually,  this  is  true  of  all  God's  aged  saints. 
They  that  wait  on  the  Lord  renew  their  strength. 
All  the  characteristics  of  youth  are  theirs  — 
fulness  of  life,  and  an  abundant  and  lively  hope. 
The  world  knows  of  no  source  of  rejuvenescence ; 
they  regard  the  sunset  with  melancholy  resig- 
nation. Youth  appears  rich  in  enjoyment,  in 
plans,  in  hopes,  in  manifold  and  full  life  ;  old 
age,  on  the  other  hand,  poor,  colourless,  and 
weak.  But  it  is  not  so  with  the  aged  servants 
of  God.  They  have  been  enriched  with  the 
treasures  of  divine  knowledge  and  spiritual  ex- 
perience ;  their  interest  in  God's  kingdom  has 
increased  deeper  and  broader.  Although  the 
outward  man  is  perishing,  yet  the  inward  man 
is  renewed  day  by  day.  They  are  strong  in 
the  Lord;  they  know  Him  who  is  from  the 
beginning ;  they  possess  a  hope  which  maketh 

s  Joshua  xiv.  9. 


Encourageinents  to  Prayer. 


not  ashamed ;    they   feel   the   nearness  of   the 
land  of  perfect  peace. 

In  conclusion,  let  us  hear  the  voice  of  an 
eminent  servant  in  Christ,  who,  on  his  death- 
bed, thus  spoke  to  his  friends  :^  "If  I  were  to  ^ 
return  to  hfe,  I  would,  with  the  help  of  God 
and  in  distrust  of  myself,  give  much  more  time 
to  prayer  than  I  have  hitherto  done,  reckoning 
much  more  upon  the  effect  of  that  than  on  my 
own  labour ;  which,  however,  it  is  our  duty 
never  to  neglect,  but  which  has  no  strength  but 
in  as  far  as  it  is  animated  by  prayer.  I  would 
especially  strive  to  obtain  in  my  prayers  that 
unction,  that  fervour  of  the  Holy  Spirit  which 
is  not  learned  in  a  day,  but  is  the  fruit  of  a 
long,  and  often  a  painful,  apprenticeship.  Oh, 
my  friends !  you  who  are  full  of  life — you 
whose  career  does  not  seem  to  be  near  its  end 
— lay  hold  of  the  opportunity  and  redeem  it ; 
cultivate  new  habits  of  prayer.  Bring  into 
prayer,  with  a  spirit  of  fervour,  a  spirit  of  order 
and  method  that  will  increase  its  power,  as  it 
increases  the  power  of  all  human  things,  and 
co-operates  with  the  Divine  agency  itself;  that 
method  and  arrangement  of  which  Jesus  Christ 
has  given  us  an  example  in  the  model  He  left 
us — the  Lord's  prayer." 

*  A.  Monod's  Farewell. 
G 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE    FULFILMENT    OF    THE    PROMISE. 
'■'■  And  He  will  draw  nigh  toyou"—]hU^'&  iv.  8. 

A  ND  is  it  so  ?  Does  God  fulfil  His  promise  ? 
•^^^  The  whole  family  in  heaven  and  on  earth 
answer,  Yes ;  "  I  love  the  Lord,  because  He 
hath  heard  my  voice  and  my  supplications." 

It  is  a  blessed  thing  to  draw  nigh  unto  God ; 
but  it  is  still  more  blessed  when  God  draws 
nigh  to  us.  Even  the  faintest  approach  to  God, 
although  in  darkness  and  out  of  the  depths,  is 
blessed;  it  is  because  God  draws,  because  His 
grace,  unknown  as  yet,  goes  before,  that  we 
ever  draw  nigh.  The  prayer,  by  which  divine 
love  is  conquered,  is  itself  inspired  by  God's 
Spirit.  For  this  reason  the  Lord  pronounces 
the  poor  in  spirit  blessed,  the  mourners,  and 
those  which  hunofer  and  thirst  after  righteous- 
ness.  He  calls  them  blessed,  because  there  is 
an  absolute  certainty  that  God  will  draw  nigh 
to  them.  The  consolation,  the  feast,  all  things 
are  ready  for  them.      Nay,   strictly  speaking, 


The  Fulfilment  of  the  Promise.  83 

theirs  is  even  now  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ; 
they  think  they  are  only  seekers,  but  they  have 
been  found  by  divine  grace,  and  they  wiH  surely 
find. 

All  religions  say,  "  Draw  nigh  to  God."  The 
wonderful  peculiarity  of  Christianity  (and  Jeho- 
vahism)  is,  that  it  calls  on  man  to  draw  nigh  to 
God,  because  He  has  drawn  nigh  to  us.  God 
reveals  Himself  as  a  sin-forgiving  and  heart- 
renewing  God — as  love.  True  worship  starts 
with  the  assurance  of  divine  favour ;  at  least, 
with  the  knowledge  that  there  is  full  grace  in 
God.  False  religions  always  regard  this  as  the 
object  and  ultimate  point  to  be  gained  gradually 
through  man's  drawing  nigh  by  prayer,  sacrifice, 
and  works.  Man  tries  to  ascend,  to  work  his 
way  upwards  by  steps,  winding,  broken,  endless  : 
God  comes  down  to  us  with  the  invitation  and 
gift  of  perfect  love.  In  Jesus  only  we  have 
the  full  and  blessed  reality  and  assurance,  God 
will  draw  nigrh  to  us.  Christ  is  a  livingf  Saviour. 
He  gives  what  He  promises.  His  messengers 
do  not  merely  exhort ;  but  they  testify  of  a 
present  heaven.  They  not  merely  direct  to  the 
Physician  ;  but  they  ask  you  to  test  by  expe- 
rience that  He  can  heal  and  restore.  They  do 
not  say.  Go  ;  but  they  say.  Come.  Penetrate, 
then,   into   the   sanctuary.     Rest   not   satisfied 


84  The  Fulfilment  of  the  Promise. 

with    drawing   nigh    to    God,    but    obtain    the 
promise. 

The  golden  gates  stand  open  ;  they  are  beau- 
tiful, but  the  home  to  which  they  lead  is  more 
glorious.  It  is  prepared  for  all  who  enter.  The 
casket  is  attractive,  and  resplendent  with  the 
hidden  beauty  it  contains  ;  but  what  when  com- 
pared with  the  pearl  of  great  price  which  is 
within  ?  Let  Faith  only  open  the  casket,  and 
you  not  merely  behold,  but  possess  the  precious 
treasure.  The  passer-by  is  arrested  by  the 
frag^rance  of  flowers  and  the  sonof  of  birds.  Bid 
farewell  to  the  love  of  sin  and  the  world  by 
looking  unto  Jesus,  and  you  are  within  the 
blood-sprinkled  enclosure  in  the  garden  of  the 
Lord.  Out  of  the  wilderness,  you  are  trans- 
planted into  the  kingdom  of  God.  "  Draw  nigh 
to  God,  and  God  will  draw  nigh  to  you."  You 
will  be  within,  and  no  longer  outside.  Oh, 
believe  it,  this  is  the  only  thing  absolutely  certain 
and  attainable  on  earth — this  is  the  only  thing 
in  which  we  can  be  perfectly  successful !  We 
seek  pleasure  and  earthly  happiness,  and  cannot 
find  and  secure  it;  we  seek  to  be  great  or  good, 
and  cannot  attain  it.  But  if  we  seek  Christ,  we 
must  and  we  do  find  Him  ;  and  Christ  is  all.  The 
only  thing  we  can  secure  on  earth  is  heaven. 
If  we  draw  nigh  to  God,  God  does  draw  nigh 


The  Fulfilment  of  the  Promise.  85 

to  us.  True,  when  He  comes  He  takes  from 
us  all  we  have — our  righteousness,  our  peace, 
our  life.  Before  we  possess  the  hidden  life  ;  we  "f 
must  die  with  Christ.  He  crucifies  the  world 
to  us,  and  He  crucifies  us  to  the  world  ;  but  He 
gives  us  Himself,  and  Himself  is  all — more 
than  all;  for  it  is  He  who  makes  "all"  to  be 
"all."  Now  the  soul  that  has  sighed,  "  Oh  that 
I  knew  where  to  find  Him!"  says,  "Whom 
have  I  in  heaven  but  Thee  ?  and  there  is  none 
upon  earth  whom  I  desire  beside  Thee." 

In  the  Scriptures,  written  by  the  inspiration 
of  the  God  of  love  and  wisdom,  there  are  en- 
couragements and  invitations,  so  simple,  affec- 
tionate, and  comprehensive,  that  none  can  remain 
in  doubt  as  to  their  meaning  ;  that  none  can  fail 
to  see  the  willino-ness  of  God  to  receive  and 
bless  the  returning  sinner.  They  are  clear 
and  frequent ;  human  language  can  afford  no 
terms  more  lucid,  urgent,  and  tender.  Beside 
these  texts,  written  so  legibly  and  attractively 
on  the  door  of  revelation,  there  are  other  decla- 
rations of  Scripture  which  are  understood  and 
enjoyed  only  by  those  who,  obedient  to  the 
heavenly  voice,  have  entered  in  by  the  open 
gate.  There  are,  so  to  say,  outside  texts  and 
inside  texts. 

"  Wisdom  standeth  in  the  top  of  high  places, 


J 


86  T/ie  Fulfibnetit  of  the  Promise. 

by  the  way  in  the  places  of  the  paths."  Wisdom 
cries  and  puts  forth  her  voice  ;  she  speaks  unto 
all.  "  Unto  you,  O  men,  I  call ;  and  my  voice 
is  to  the  sons  of  men."  To  the  simple  and  to 
fools  she  speaks  of  excellent  things.  Thus  God 
does  not  speak  in  secret  places,  not  in  heights 
inaccessible,  and  depths  which  we  cannot  fathom. 
"The  Word  is  nigh  thee."  As  Jesus  said, 
"  I  taught  daily  in  the  temple."  God  speaks 
daily  to  us,  where  we  must  hear  His  voice. 
God  speaks  with  such  directness  and  simplicity, 
addressing  the  sensus  communis,  and  command- 
ing the  immediate  assent  of  the  inner  man. 
And  God  speaks  to  all,  excluding  none,  how- 
ever foolish  or  sinful. 

Here  all  is  open,  universal ;  but  if  we  listen 
to  this  voice  of  wisdom,  we  enter,  and,  no  longer 
j  among  the  multitude  and  crowd  of  the  streets, 
I  on  the  dusty  and  noisy  highway,  we  shall  be 
in  the  presence  of  God,  in  the  school  of  Christ. 
The  Father  will  reveal  to  us  the  mystery  of 
Christ,  and  the  secret  of  the  Lord  shall  be  with 
us  by  the  teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

"God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His 
only-begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in 
Him  shall  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 
What  can  be  more  encouraging  and  compre- 
hensive than   this   divine   message  ?     Here   is 


The  Fulfilment  of  the  Promise.  87 

indeed  a  wide,  open,  golden  gate !  But  if  we. 
enter,  we  read,  "  The  life  of  faith  in  the  Son  of 
God,  who  loved  me,  and  gave  Himself  for  me!' 
If  we  did  not  possess  the  outside  and  compre- 
hensive texts,  Scripture  would  be  like  a  house 
without  a  door.  However  firm  the  foundation, 
solid  the  walls,  secure  the  roof;  however  beauti- 
ful and  capacious  the  rooms,  the  wanderer  out- 
side in  darkness,  loneliness,  and  danger,  seeking 
shelter  and  peace,  could  not  enter.  But  if 
Scripture  did  not  contain  the  inside,  special,  and 
mysterious  texts,  it  would  be  like  doors  that 
lead  to  nothing,  promises  which  have  no  fulfil- 
ment, invitations  to  a  feast  without  the  reality 
of  a  feast  awaiting  those  who  accept  them.  It 
would  be  merely  "  Come ;"  but  not  "All  things 
are  ready." 

We  need  not  expect  to  read  the  inside  texts 
until  we  are  inside.^     The  love  of  Jesus,  what        , 
it  is — none  but  His  loved  ones  know.     That 
which  describes  the  experience  of  the  believer 

'  Many  ask  questions  about  election  and  other  doctrines, 
which  do  not  yet  come  within  their  horizon,  and  therefore 
cannot  be  explained  to  them  (to  a  certain  extent,  true  of  us  all). 
The  ninth  chapter  of  Paul's  epistle  to  the  Romans,  as  Luther  y 
said,  is  the  ninth.  Learn  first  the  eight  chapters  which  precede 
it — 

"  Soil  ich  dir  die  gegend  zeigen, 
Musst  du  erst  das  Dach  besteigen." — GoETHE. 
(You  cannot  see  the  view  unless  you  ascend  the  height.) 


88  The  Fulfilment  of  the  P^'omise. 

and  the  dealings  of  God  with  him  cannot  be 
known,  and  cannot  form  the  ground  of  en- 
couragement to  an  outsider.  God  speaks  to 
him  as  one  of  the  world.  God  loved  the 
world.  Believe,  and  you  will  be  able  to  say, 
Christ  loved  the  Church.  He  loved  me.  God 
speaks  to  him,  as  "every  one  that  thirsteth," 
if  you  come  and  buy,  you  will  then  know  there 
is  a  water  of  life,  and  the  sincere  milk  of  the 
Word  and  divine  love,  which  is  better  than 
wine. 

Yet  in  God's  wisdom  the  outside  texts  never 
become  superfluous,  even  to  the  saints  who  are 
by  grace  within  the  fold.  The  first  and  simplest 
truths  of  the  gospel  become  of  growing  value 
to  our  souls  as  we  advance  along  the  narrow 
road  which  leadeth  unto  life.  Truths  which  are 
at  first  received  authoritatively,  on  the  evidence 
of  Scripture,  become  commended  to  us  by  their 
own  beauty ;  and  that  which  we  received  at 
first,  as  it  were  by  force  of  our  own  necessity,  is 
found  in  our  progress  to  be  the  manifestation  of 
the  glory  of  Christ,  so  that  we  are  able  in 
measure  to  contemplate  it  apart  from  selfish- 
ness, and  to  see  it  in  the  light  in  which  God 
Himself  sees  it.  How  often,  I  had  almost  said 
constantly,  has  a  believer  to  go  back  to  them. 
How  precious  is  "God  so  loved  the  world"  to 


The  Fulfilment  of  the  Promise.  89 

every  saint.  How  welcome  the  "whosoever" 
of  the  most  elementary  gospel  declaration. 
"If  God  had  not  said,  '  Blessed  are  those  that 
hunger,'  I  know  not  what  could  keep  weak 
Christians  from  sinking  in  despair.  Many  times 
all  I  can  do  is  to  complain  that  I  want  Him, 
and  wish  to  recover  Him."^  How  often  we 
need  the  encouraging  word,  "As  I  live,  saith 
the  Lord,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the 
sinner,  but  that  he  should  turn  and  live."  See 
how  the  apostle  Paul  at  the  end  of  his  long  life 
of  service  and  suffering  rejoices  in  the  general 
declaration,  "  This  is  a  faithful  saying,  and 
worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesus  has 
come  into  the  world  to  save  sinners."  But  how 
beautifully  he  changes  it  into  an  inside  text  by 
adding,  "of  whom  I  am  chief."  Yet  no  be- 
liever can  be  satisfied  with  the  general  and,  so 
to  speak,  introductory  texts.  If  we  have  really 
believed,  entered  in,  come  to  the  Saviour,  we 
must  know  something  of  what  He  says  and  gives 
to  those  who  belong  to  Him  ;  we  must  have 
experienced  the  truth  of  His  promise.  If  we 
have  accepted  the  invitation,  we  must  have 
tasted  the  feast.  Here  success  is  absolutely 
necessary.  It  is  not  enough  to  try  ;  but  we 
must  actually  enter  in  by  the  strait  gate.     Seek- 

^  Bishop  Hall. 


go  The  Fulfilment  of  the  Promise. 


ing  God,  as  some  one  said,  is  right ;  but  it  is 
not  salvation.  Jesus  is  the  Saviour,  and  we 
must  come  to  Him. 

Pascal  says :  "  There  are  three  classes  of 
persons — Those  who  have  found  God,  and 
serve  Him  ;  those  who  are  busy  in  seeking 
Him,  but  have  not  found  Him ;  and  those  who, 
not  having  found  Him,  live  without  seeking 
Him.  The  first  are  rational  and  happy;  the 
last  are  foolish  and  unhappy  ;  the  other  class 
are  unhappy,  but  rational."  But  we  know  that 
every  one  that  seeketh  shall  find.  Let  us  not 
deceive  ourselves.  "  Draw  nigh  to  God,  and  He 
will  draw  nigh  to  you."  Come  to  Jesus,  and  He 
_f_  gives  you  rest.  Believe  in  Him,  and  you  have 
eternal  life.  Our  coming  has  been  no  reality, 
if  our  receiving  is  no  reality.  The  answer  of 
God,  the  response  of  Jesus,  must  needs  follow 
the  prayer  of  the  soul.  Nothing  can  be  more 
precious  than  the  free,  open  entrance.  And 
why  ?  Because  it  does  lead  to  the  love  of  God, 
to  the  true  peace,  and  to  the  eternal  life. 

Nor  are  the  inside  texts  without  blessing  to 
the  seeker.  He  hears  that  God  has  a  people  ; 
that  there  are  hearts  renewed  by  grace,  and 
inhabited  by  the  Spirit  ;  that  there  is  'a  peace 
which  passeth  all  understanding ;  comfort  in 
-^    affliction ;    hope    in    death ;    glory   in    eternity. 


The  Fiiljibncnt  of  the  Promise.  9 1 

The  very  fact  that  there  is  an  experience  which 
he  has  not  had  yet  stirs  him  up  to  pray,  to  seek. 
Thus  Jesus  described  unto  His  disciples,  but 
hi  the  hearing  of  all  the  people,  the  beatitudes 
of  the  kingdom.  There  is  a  hidden  hfe  of  the 
soul ;  there  is  communion  with  God  ;  there  is 
an  immediate'^  and  real  contemplation  and  en- 
joyment of  divine  things ;  there  is  a  manifestation 
of  Jesus  to  the  believers  of  which  the  world  has 
no  experience.    "  My  sheep  hear  my  voice." 

What  is  this  life  ?  It  is  not  mere  knowledge. 
The  word  knowledge  is  often  used  in  Scripture 
in  a  high  and  comprehensive  sense  ;  and  then 
to  know  means,  not  merely  to  understand  intel- 
lectually, or  to  form  a  mental  conception,  but 
to  discern  and  appropriate  by  an  inward  expe- 
rience, to  love  and  to  possess.  In  this  sense,  to 
know  is  eternal  life.*  This  knowledge  is  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  this  vision  is  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  promise,   "  They  shall  know  Me." 

But  it  would  be  a  fatal  mistake  if  any  one 
consoled  himself  with  the  fact,  that  he  under- 
stood and  accepted  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel. 
We  may  possess  much  knowledge,  yea,  all  know- 
ledge, even  of  mysteries,  and  yet  be  nothing. 

3  Immediate.  Doctrines  having  been  grasped  by  the  intellect, 
and  received  in  the  heart,  we  can  enter  directly  into  communion 
with  God.  ■*  John  xvii.  3. 


92  The  Fiiljihne7it  of  the  Pro77iise. 

Knowledge  puffeth  up.  The  kingdom  of  God 
is  not  in  word,  but  in  power.  "If  ye  know 
these  things,  blessed  are  ye  if  ye  do  them." 

Doctrine  is,  as  it  were,  the  form  and  outline, 
the  shape  and  vessel ;  the  substance  is  God 
Himself.  Jesus  is  the  Bread  of  life,  and  we 
must  feed  on  Him.  It  is  not  enouQfh  to  see 
the  bread  and  the  cup,  and  to  know  that  it  is 
the  true  nourishment ;  it  is  not  enough  to  take 
it,  thus  recognising  that  God  freely  and  lovingly 
offers  it  to  me  as  I  am  ;  I  must  eat  and  drink. 
We  must  appropriate  Christ.  To  feed  on  Christ 
is  an  act  of  the  will ;  it  is  with  the  heart  that 
man  believeth.^  This  is  the  secret  and  inner 
life,  as  Jesus  saith  :  "  Behold,  I  stand  at  the 
door,  and  knock  :  if  any  man  hear  my  voice, 
and  open  the  door,  I  will  come  in  to  him,  and 
will  sup  with  him,  and  he  with  Me." 

God  Himself  draws  nigh  ;  and  God  only  can 
satisfy  the  heart.  The  most  subtle  idolatry  and 
image-worship  is  when  the  soul  rests  in  doctrine, 
however  true.  When  delighted  with  the  pro- 
found and  comprehensive  scheme  of  Scripture 
truth,  it  forgets  that  this  is  but  the  abstraction, 
the  theory,  the  shadow  of  great  and  living 
realities.      How  different  is  the  description  of  a 

5  When  divine  truth  is  presented,  the  question  is  not  merely, 
Do  I  see  it.?  but,  Do  I  will  W. 


The  Fulfilment  of  the  Promise.  93 

rose  in  a  botanical  manual,  however  correct, 
from  the  beauty  and  fragrance  of  a  real  rose  as 
you  hold  it  in  your  hand  !  "  Draw  nigh  to  God, 
and  He  will  draw  nigh  to  you" — He  Himself, 
although  He  may  use  various  channels  and 
instruments ;  it  may  be  Paul,  or  Cephas,  or 
A  polios ;  it  may  be  affliction  or  prosperity ;  it 
may  be  through  the  voice  of  Nature  or  of  Pro- 
vidence ;  it  may  be  through  the  word  or  the 
example  of  a  Christian  ;  yet  it  is  God  Himself. 
But  of  all  instruments  and  channels  the  written 
Word  is  of  the  utmost  importance ;  it  stands 
supreme.  It  is  through  Scripture,  eminently, 
that  God  draws  nigh  to  the  soul.  But  let  us 
never  mistake  the  reading  of  the  Scripture  for 
that  real  drawing  nigh  of  the  living  God,  towards 
which  it  is  the  great  help,  and  of  which  it  is  the 
great  witness.  Scripture  is  not  the  substitute 
for  God's  drawing  nigh  to  us,  it  is  only  the 
channel ;  the  written  Word  of  the  past  must 
become  the  living  Word  of  ih^  present. 

There  never  were  more  learned,  skilful,  and 
laborious  interpreters  of  the  Scripture  than  the 
scribes  and  Pharisees.  They  possessed  a  very 
minute  knowledge  of  the  written  Word,  and  do 
not  let  us  forget  it,  in  the  main  it  was  correct. 
They  knew  which  were  the  greatest  command- 
ments ;  they  knew  where  the  Messiah  was  to 


94  ^/^^  Fulfilment  of  the  Promise. 

be  born  ;  they  taught  so  that  Jesus  could  say, 
Do  what  they  tell  you.  And  yet  they  did  not 
hear  the  voice  of  God.  When  the  Word  of 
God  incarnate  stood  before  them,  and  spoke  to 
them,  they  rejected  Him.  Oh,  how  deeply 
astonished  and  grieved  was  Jesus,  the  single- 
hearted  and  loving  child  of  God,  when  He 
discovered  this  strange  anomaly!  But  He 
Himself  gives  us  the  sad  solution  of  this  the 
most  tragic  fact  of  history.  ^ 

They  had  not  the  right  aim.  They  did  not 
seek  God  in  the  Word,  and  therefore  did  not 
find  Him  ;"  they  sought  the  honour  that  comes 
from  man,  and  therefore  could  not  believe. 
They  loved  the  present  world ;  and  it  is  only 
in  proportion  as  we  have  died  unto  the  world 
that  we  can  understand  and  love  God's  truth. 
They  were  anxious  to  be  thought  masters  and 
expositors ;  and  even  when  they  tried  to  find 

^  The  gospel  of  John  (specially  chapters  v.  and  viii.)  throws 
much  light  on  this  point.  The  Lord  tells  the  Jews  they  have 
not  the  word  of  God  abiding  in  them,  though  they  possessed 
and  valued  the  Scriptures. 

^  "  Men  are  apt  to  seek  everything  in  the  Bible,  except  God. 
The  man  of  learning  goes  to  it  with  his  erudition,  sees  and 
hears  nothing  but  what  gives  scope  to  his  art  ;  the  inquisitive 
goes  to  it  with  his  curiosity,  prying  into  things  which  the  Father 
hath  reserved  in  His  power.  Others  again  seek  it  in  relief  from 
burdensome  feelings,  and  only  wish  to  rejoice  in  its  light  for  a 
short  season." — Beck. 


The  jF2il/ilment  of  the  Pro7nise.  95 

out  the  practical  meaning  of  Scripture,  it  was 
to  solemnize  and  edify  others,  and  not  them- 
selves. They  prepared  dainties  for  others,  while 
they  were  starving  themselves  ;  they  pointed  to 
others  the  way,  and  remained  only  dead  and 
wooden  sign-posts.  They  came  to  Scripture,  as 
Nicodemus  came  to  Jesus,  acknowledging  that 
it  was  a  book  come  from  God,  expecting  Infor- 
mation and  improvement,  not  knowing  that  they 
needed  to  be  born  again.^  They  quoted  com- 
mentaries, and  stole  the  Word  one  from  the 
other,  saying,  the  burden  of  the  Lord,  this  is 
the  text  and  the  interpretation;  and  never 
prayed,  Open  Thou  mine  eyes ;  and  never 
sought  a  message  from  the  living  God  :  "  Open 
Thou  my  lips  ;  and  my  mouth  shall  shew  forth 
Thy  praise." 

Such  was  Pharisaism.  But  when  God  draws 
nigh,  when  It  pleases  Him  to  reveal  His  Son 
in  us,  then  we  count  the  erudition  so  eagerly 
acquired  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel  but  dross  ;  we 
become  God's  children,  Christ's  disciples,  and 
the  Spirit  of  God  teaches  us  that  wisdom  which 
the  world  counts  foolishness. 

God  speaks  In  and  through  the  Word.  It  Is 
not  that  God  spake  long  ago,  and  that  the 
record  of  His  acts  and  words.  His  revelation, 

^  Francke. 


96  The  Ftdfilment  of  the  Promise. 

was  embodied  in  a  perfect  manner,  and  preserved 
for  us  in  Scripture.  This  is  true.  But  God  gave 
us  the  Bible,  not  to  be  silent  now  and  let  the 
Bible  speak  instead  oi  Him,  and  be  2i  guarantee 
for  Him,  but  that  He  Himself  may  through 
His  word  speak,  comfort,  and  confirm  the  soul, 
filling  it  with  His  light  and  love. 

Did  not  David  possess  and  love  the  five 
books  of  Moses  ?  yet  did  he  not  continually 
pray,  "Be  not  silent  unto  me"  ?  Because  we 
have  Scripture,  we  say,  "  I  will  hear  what  God 
the  Lord  will  say."  Does  not  the  author  of  the 
1 19th  Psalm  express  it  in  more  than  a  hundred 
ways  ?  "  Thou  hast  given  me  Thy  blessed  word ; 
speak  to  me — teach,  guide,  enlighten  me.  From 
Thee  direct,  from  Thee,  living  and  loving  One, 
I  seek  all  through  Thy  word — not  from  the 
ancients  or  tradition,  not  from  the  seniors  or 
authority." 

It  is  God's  word,  and  therefore  all  \'s>  profitable 
to  us  at  present.  Every  incident,  every  charac- 
ter, every  promise,  every  command,  is  a  present 
and  living  reality  to  us.  Not  for  the  preacher, 
not  for  the  theologian,  not  for  the  literary  man, 
not  for  the  man  of  taste,  not  for  the  man  of 
principle,  but  for  the  man  of  God,  is  Scripture 
insoired.  It  is  to  make  us  the  children  of  the 
Most  High,  to  make  us  Christ-like,  to  conform 


The  Fulfilmetit  of  the  Promise.  97 

us  to  the  image  of  His  Son,  to  furnish  us 
throughly  unto  every  good  work ;  so  that  after 
the  discipHne  of  this  earthly  life  we  may  be 
made  manifest  in  glory, 

God  draws  nigh  in  the  Word.  Do  we  know 
what  it  is  to  read  the  Bible  in  the  original  ?  It 
does  not  mean  in  Hebrew  or  Greek.  God  speaks 
neither  Hebrew  nor  Greek.  This  is  the  original 
language  of  Scripture — the  love  of  God  to  the 
soul :  "  I  have  loved  thee  with  an  everlasting 
love :  therefore  with  loving-kindness  have  I 
drawn  thee."  And  all  God's  vocabulary  is 
summed  up  in  Jesus — Alpha  and  Omega,  He 
is  the  Word.  When  God  takes  the  written 
Word  back  from  the  paper  into  His  own 
mouth,  then  we  read  the  original  ;  then  it  is 
again  God  -  breathed,  and  the  word  which 
Cometh  out  of  His  mouth  shall  not  return 
void. 

None  but  the  Lord  our  God  can  teach  us 
to  profit.  People  advise  us  how  to  read  the 
Bible.  They  suggest,  probably  from  their  own 
experience,  various  methods  and  plans  how  to 
study  the  Bible.  External  knowledge  of  Scrip- 
ture is  very  valuable,  but  let  us  not  rest  in  it. 
Method  is  useful,  but  let  us  not  be  taken  up 
with  it.  Rather  let  us  look  to  our  motive  in 
reading  Scripture.    We  do  not  want  knowledge 

H 


98  The  Fulfilment  of  the  Promise. 

to  shine  before  men,  but  to  be  humble  before 
God.  Let  us  consult  the  living  commentaries 
brought  before  us  in  God's  providence — our 
work,  our  friends,  our  lives.  And  as  prayer  is 
only  the  culminating  point  of  our  drawing  nigh 
to  God,  so  the  reading  of  Scripture  is  only  the 
culminating  point  of  God's  drawing  nigh  to  us  ; 
for  the  living  God  connects  His  providence,  our 
daily  life,  work,  and  suffering,  with  His  word. 
If,  as  Jesus  says,  he  that  docs  the  will  of  God 
shall  know  of  His  doctrine,  then  we  may  be 
assured  that  the  diligent,  conscientious,  and 
prayerful  performance  of  our  daily  duties  will 
be  made  the  preparation  for  receiving  greater 
and  deeper  blessings  in  the  reading  of  God's 
word.  It  is  not  time  and  leisure  we  want.  If 
we  are  in  the  Spirit,  if  we  draw  nigh  to  God, 
God  can  draw  nigh  unto  us  in  one  little  text, 
in  the  remembrance  of  one  Bible  narrative  or 
promise,  in  the  remembrance  of  one  single 
feature  of  the  Lord's  countenance  and  character, 
and  fill  our  souls  with  marrow  and  fat. 

As  we  read  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  that  He  fed  the 
multitude  of  thousands  with  five  loaves  and  two 
fishes,  and  all  were  satisfied,  and  there  remained 
seven  baskets  of  fragments,  so  God  can  make 
a  few  Scripture  verses,  or  a  single  promise, 
supply  abundantly  all  our  need,  be  it  of  guid- 


The  Fjdfihnent  of  the  Promise.  99 

ance  in  perplexing"  circumstances,  or  of  strength 
under  exhausting  difficulties,  or  of  consolation 
in  heart-sorrow.  And  not  merely  supply  our 
need,  but  so  fill  us  with  divine  light  and  grace, 
that  with  this  sinorle  Word  we  shall  gro  and 
enrich  and  comfort  others,  so  that  nothing  of 
God's  marvellous  bounty  is  lost. 

Scripture  itself  teaches  us  how  to  use  Scrip- 
ture. It  is  in  Scripture  that  we  find  the  deepest 
and  most  far-reaching  protests  against  a  super- 
stitious and  mechanical,  against  a  merely  intel- 
lectual and  sentimental,  reading  of  the  Bible. 

In  the  Psalms  of  David  especially,  God  has 
given  to  us  a  perfect  picture  of  the  spiritual 
use  of  Scripture.^ 

Take  the  first  psalm.  It  is  most  solemn  and 
awful.  It  describes  the  broad  road  and  the 
narrow  way;  the  wheat  and  the  chaff;  the 
judgment  which  shall  separate  with  unerring 
and  inexorable  severity,  gathering  the  precious 
into  the  orarner,  and  burnino-  the  chaff  with  un- 
quenchable  fire.  Who  is  the  godly  man  ?  He 
is  characterized  not  by  fear  and  terror,  but  by 
an  indwelling,  bright,  and  peaceful  joy.  That 
which  really  separates  him  from  the  wicked,  is 
the  secret  treasure  he  has  found  in  God's  love. 

'  Like  the  play  within  the  play  in  Hamlet,  we  see  here  in  the 
Bible  how  a  godly  man  reads  the  Bible. 


lOO         The  Fulfilment  of  the  Pro77iise. 

His  delizht  is  in  the  law  of  the  Lord.  He  medi- 
tates  on  it  day  and  night.  Even  by  night ;  for 
our  spiritual  life  is  deeper  than  our  consciousness. 
Thus  God  draws  nigh  unto  him,  and  sustains 
and  guides  him  in  all  his  ways.  Thus,  while 
no  human  eye  sees  the  vitalizing  and  refreshing 
element  in  which  his  soul  is  rooted,  every  one 
beholds  his  strength,  his  good  works,  his  peace- 
ful and  rhythmical  life  ;  "  like  a  tree  planted  by 
the  rivers  of  water,  that  bringeth  forth  his  fruit 
in  his  season  ;  his  leaf  also  shall  not  wither ; 
and  whatsoever  he  doeth  shall  prosper." 

Look  again  at  the  nineteenth  Psalm.  David 
hears  the  voice  of  the  living  God  in  the  world 
or  nature  around  him,  in  the  Scripture,  and  in 
the  heart  within.  He  rejoices  in  God,  who  is 
not  silent  to  him.  Always  and  everywhere  he 
hears  the  voice,  he  sees  the  glory,  he  sees  the 
grace.  The  heavens  declare  it  to  him,  and  the 
sun,  emblem  of  the  light  and  love  of  God,  of 
the  Bridegroom  of  the  soul,  of  the  free  gospel,^ 
preaches  to  him  glad  tidings.  He  can  under- 
stand the  voice  of  Nature,  because  Scripture 
tauoht  him  God.  The  word  of  God,  enliehtenine 
and  renewing,  rejoicing  the  heart,  and  guiding 
the  walk,  has  become  more  precious  to  him  than 
gold,  sweeter  than  honeycomb.     This  would  be 

'  Rom.  X.  1 8. 


The  Fidfilme7it  of  the  Promise.        loi 

superstition  and  idolatry,  as  well  as  self-deception, 
were  it  not  that  C^^f  reveals  and  bestows  Him- 
self in  the  Word.  This  voice  speaks  to  him 
personally ;  and  therefore  he  looks  zuithiu,  and 
in  humility  he  prays,  "  Who  can  understand  his 
errors  ?  cleanse  thou  me  from  secret  faults." 
And  in  all  this  he  has  been  speaking  both 
before  and  to  God.  "  Let  the  words  of  m}'- 
mouth,  and  the  meditation  of  my  heart,  be 
acceptable  in  Thy  sight,  O  Lord,  my  strength 
and  my  redeemer." 

Look  at  the  119th  Psalm,  the  golden  ABC 
of  the  Jews.  This,  as  every  one  knows,  is  the 
longest  psalm  ;  but  let  us  see  that  it  is  2\?>o2.great 
psalm.  It  extols  the  excellency  of  the  word  of 
God  ;  and  in  doing  so,  describes  the  nature, 
power,  and  blessing  of  Scripture  in  a  most  com- 
prehensive manner.  God,  man,  and  Scripture, 
human  life  in  all  its  aspects,  and  the  divine 
Word — these  are  the  topics  of  the  psalm.  He 
begins  (Aleph)  by  stating  the  ideal  of  the  godly 
life,  to  be  undefiled  in  the  way,  seeking  God 
with  the  whole  heart,  keeping  God's  statutes, 
having  respect  unto  all  His  commandments — • 
the  man  of  God  throughly  furnished  unto  every 
good  work,  and  that  by  the  Word,  And  then 
(Beth),  starting  with  youth,  its  ignorance,  sin- 
fulness, and   temptations,  he  goes  through  all 


I02         The  Fulfilment  of  the  Promise. 

human  experiences,  and  shows  how  God's  word 
sanctifies  and  comforts,  helps  and  directs  us. 
The  temptations  of  sin,  the  snares  of  the  world, 
the  reproach  of  the  ungodly,  the  contempt  of 
the  wicked  for  God's  truth,  the  opposition  of 
the  proud  and  mighty,  the  false  and  Pharisaic 
spirit  of  the  formalists,  the  afflictions  and  trials 
which  come  from  without,  the  soul's  distress 
and  languor,  cleaving  unto  dust,  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  heart  unto  willing  obedience,  the 
inward  calmness  and  peace  of  the  trustful  saint, 
the  joy  and  jubilant  thanksgiving  of  the  soul — 
all  is  described  here  in  simplest  language  of 
experience.  Here  is  orbis  pictits.  The  whole 
world,  outer  and  inward — and  everywhere  God 
speaking  through  the  Word — guiding,  quieting, 
sustaining,  bringing  light  and  strength  and  joy. 
This  wonderful  psalm  is  given  (and  we  ought 
to  read  it  frequently)  to  make  us  know  what  a 
life-treasure  we  have  in  the  word  of  God. 

Behold  a  witness  nobler  still  —  the  man 
Christ  Jesus.  When  I  think  of  Him,  I  wonder 
how  priestly  mediation,  ecclesiastical  authority, 
human  genius  and  learning,  have  ever  ventured 
to  lord  it  over  God's  heritage !  "  Where  is 
the  wise  ?  where  is  the  scribe  ?  where  is  the 
disputer  of  this  world  ?  "  Christ  is  our  Master 
and  Teacher,  the  Holy  Ghost  our  Light,  and 


The  Fulfilment  of  the  Proinise.        103 

all  Christians  have  the  unction  from  above. 
Jesus  came  in  humility.  He  was  poor.  He 
was  brought  up  in  despised  Nazareth.  He  was 
called  a  carpenter.  He  had  no  wealth.  We 
easily  admit  all  this,  and  more  or  less  remember 
it.  But  notice,  He  had  no  learning.  His  was  no 
scholastic  erudition.  He  possessed  no  exegetical 
lore,  and  the  theologians  said  of  Him,  "  How 
does  this  man  know  exegesis,  having  never 
studied?"  Yes;  but  He  was  the  man  Christ 
yesus,  the  man  of  God.  He  understood  the 
Scriptures,  because  He  drew  nigh  to  God,  and 
God  drew  nigh  to  Him.  His  heart  was  pure; 
love  to  God  and  man  filled  His  soul.  His  aim 
was  the  Father's  glory ;  His  daily  meat  was  to 
do  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  Him.  From  his 
childhood  he  knezv  the  Scriptures.  Prayer  and 
obedience,  humility  and  love,  were  his  com- 
mentaries. He  learned  in  the  carpenter's  shop 
of  Nazareth,  by  the  daily  and  hourly  guidance 
of  His  heavenly  Father.  His  heart  was  calm 
and  lowly,  and  the  whole  light  of  Scripture  was 
reflected  in  it.  He  had  the  word  of  God  abiding 
in  Him.  Jesus  teaches  us  to  pray,  to  draw  nigh 
to  God  ;  Jesus  teaches  us  to  read  the  Scriptures, 
so  that  God  draws  nigh  to  us.  When  Jesus 
quotes  the  Scriptures,  it  is  not  merely  a  quota- 
tion of  the  intellect  and  of  memory,  but  it  is 


I04         The  Fuljibitent  of  the  Promise. 

out  of  His  own  heart  and  experience  ;  it  is  out 
of  His  own  treasury;  it  has  become  His  very 
life-blood,  and  therefore  it  is  life  and  light,  it  is 
power  and  authority. 

Let  us  learn  of  Jesus;  let  us  be  like  Him; 
for  in  order  to  be  like  the  natural  (psychical) 
man,  to  whom  the  Word  always  remains  some- 
thing external,  we  need  not  be  regenerated. 
Our  new  birth  is  the  commencement  of  the 
Christ-life.  God  hath  sent  the  Spirit  of  His 
Son  into  our  hearts.  We  hear  the  Father's 
voice  ;  we  pray  in  Christ's  name. 

When  thus  we  read  Scripture,  we  feel  as  if 
praying ;  as  in  the  Psalms  and  Prophets  there 
is  constant  dialogue,  the  soul  immediately  con- 
verting the  divine  message  into  the  response 
of  faith  and  longing.  And  when  we  pray  we 
often  feel  the  Scripture-word  brought  nigh  to 
our  heart,  nay,  brought  Into  us,  so  that  we  utter 
it  with  full  consent  and  central  soul-illumination. 
And  thus  do  we  learn  to  go  forth  into  our 
life-path,  praying  without  ceasing,  and  always 
listening  to  the  heavenly  voice. 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE   EXPERIENCED   REALITY  OF  REVELATION, 

^^  Draw  iiigJi  to  God,  and  He  will  draw  nigh  to  yon." 
James  iv.  8. 

T  TNBELIEF  appears  strange  to  all  who 
^^  know  God,  because  they  love  Him  ;  to 
the  children  of  the  new  covenant,  who  need  no 
longer  that  any  human  authority  or  instruction 
should  say  unto  them,  "  Know  the  Lord."  God 
has  manifested  Himself  unto  them  in  forgiving 
their  iniquity,  and  remembering  their  transgres- 
sions no  more.  Unbelief  cannot  pray  to  the 
living  God,  and  hear  the  voice  of  the  eternal 
and  ever-speaking  Word,  the  wisdom  of  God, 
the  Divine  Lover  of  the  sons  of  men.  That 
which  is  to  us  the  greatest  reality,  appears  a 
vague  and  doubtful  abstraction  to  unbelief;  it 
regards  as  obscure  what  is  to  us  light,  manifest- 
ing itself,  and  making  all  things  manifest ;  it 
deems  inaccessible  and  far  off  what  is  constantly 
around  us,  nay,  lives  within  us — a  well  of  water 
springing  up  into  eternal  life. 


io6    The  Experienced  Reality  of  Revelation. 

And  again,  this  very  certainty  which  we 
possess,  which  we  in  our  Christian  language  call 
faith,  is  unintelligible  to  the  merely  psychical 
man.  He  may  sometimes  express  envy  of  our 
happiness,  and  say  he  wishes  he  also  could 
believe ;  but  he  thinks  that  our  certainty  is 
either  the  unreasonino-  and  somewhat  infantine 
rest  in  an  outward  authority,  or  that  it  is  a 
sentiment  of  the  heart  which  gives  us  peace 
and  joy,  but  which  has  no  foundation  in  reality. 
He  does  not  know  that  faith  is  the  eift  of  God, 
a  light  kindled  by  the  Spirit,  who  reveals  unto 
us  "  the  things  freely  given  to  tis  of  God."^  He 
does  not  know  that  God  has  spoken  to  us,  and 
that  faith  cometh  by  hearing  this  voice.  He 
is  therefore  not  able  to  understand  how  the 
Spiritual  man,  who  by  reason  of  a  new  birth 
sees  the  kingdom  of  God,  knoweth  of  a  cer- 
tainty all  things,  and  how  all  the  objections, 
doubts,  and  difficulties  of  the  learned  do  not 
touch  him  or  even  disturb  his  mind.  And 
this  is  his  knowledge,  there  is  the  living  God  ; 
prayer  and  the  word  of  God  are  experienced 
realities  ;  he  has  tested  the  Word,  "  Draw  nigh 
to  God,  and  He  will  draw  nigh  to  you." 

Into  this  simple  question  all  must  finally  re- 
solve itself:  Is  there  the  living-  God?     If  we 

'  I  Cor.  ii.  12. 


The  Experienced  Reality  of  Revelation.     107 

believe  that  God  lives,  then  we  shall  experience, 
God  hath  spoken,  and  we  shall  also  experience 
that  He  is  the  hearer  of  prayer.  If  we  do  not 
know  the  living  God,  all  our  acknowledgment 
of  Scripture  is  superficial,  and  we  have  not 
yet  heard  that  voice  which  begets  faith,  nor  do 
we  know  the  blessedness  of  prayer,  of  that 
constant  life  in  God's  presence,  and  conscious 
dependence  on  Him. 

God  manifests  Himself  to  the  simple,  the 
ignorant — unto  babes;  and  His  self-manifesta- 
tion must  be  of  such  a  nature,  that  no  human 
authority  is  needed  to  attest  it,  or  human  learn- 
ing to  defend  it.  Is  the  faith  of  a  simple 
Christian  shaken  because  difficulties  of  science 
or  metaphysics,  of  history  or  chronology,  are 
brought  forward — is  his  faith  suspended  until 
they  are  answered  ?  Has  there  been  a  single 
century  in  which  unbelief  had  not  many  diffi- 
culties, and  some  very  subtle  and  specious, 
to  urge  against  the  truth  ?  Has  the  Church, 
though  able  to  answer  all  arguments,  been 
able  to  alter  the  doubting  heart  and  the 
God-estranged  mind,  which  ever  invents  new 
difficulties,  and  ever  changes  its  method  and 
weapons  of  attack  ?  But  all  this  time  has  not 
the  Church  believed  without  hesitation  and 
faltering,  because  the  true  Light  now  shineth, 


io8    The  Experienced  Reality  of  Revelation. 

and  the  Spirit  beareth  witness,  because  the 
Spirit  is  truth. 

Christians  know  God,  and  Jesus  the  heavenly 
Friend!  The  Holy  Spirit  has  revealed  unto 
us  the  Father  and  the  Son.  We  know  the 
Word  also,  in  which  He  has  made  us  to  hope, 
and  least  of  all  can  the  vain  philosophy  of  the 
world  move  us  ;  for  this  very  unbelief  is  fore- 
told. Could  human  wisdom  receive  and  defend 
the  truth,  the  Holy  Ghost  would  not  be  needed  ; 
but  the  simplest  and  most  uncultured  may, 
by  the  grace  of  God,  have  perfect  assurance, 
light,  the  knowledge,  "  God  hath  spoken  to 
me. 

I  am  well  aware  that  men  are  always  wishing 
to  find  some  other  foundation  than  that  which 
is  laid.  They  wish  something  over  and  beyond 
the  word  of  God  wherein  to  trust.  They  wish 
us  to  prove  that  Scripture  is  the  word  of  God. 
It  is  as  if  you  asked  any  one  to  prove  the 
brisfhtness  of  the  sun,  or  the  loudness  of 
thunder,  or  the  sweetness  of  honey.  The 
word  of  God  proves  itself  divine.  But  again 
it  is  objected  :  Because  it  has  proved  itself  thus 
to  you,  it  may  not  prove  itself  to  me.  We 
answer  :  If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  and 
taste  that  the  Lord  is  gracious.  He  who  speaks 
to  you  in  the  Word  is  no  stranger ;    it  is  the 


The  Expej^ienccd  Reality  of  Revelation.    109 

Lord  who  made  you.  Your  mind,  your  heart, 
your  will,  your  whole  inner  man,  have  been 
created  for  God  and  His  word,  as  much  as  your 
eye  for  light,  and  your  ear  for  sound.  Faith  is 
as  natural  to  your  soul  as  breathing  to  your 
lungs. 

Man  in  Paradise  heard  God's  voice,  and  be- 
lieved. Doubt  was  the  suggestion  of  Satan.  It  is 
a  foreign  growth,  a  poison  instilled  from  without. 
The  enemy  hath  sown  this.  "  Hath  God  said  ?" 
or  skepsis,  or  criticism  of  the  divine  Word,  is 
not  the  development  of  something  originally 
human,  but  the  sophism  of  the  old  serpent. 
Truly,  it  is  not  merely  the  first  impression  from 
a  mother's  lovinof  teaching  that  makes  it  difficult 
for  men  to  give  up  faith  in  God,  in  His  word, 
in  prayer.  There  is  the  great  and  glorious  fact, 
that  God  has  indeed  spoken ;  that  He  who 
made  the  heart  has  had  fii'st  entrance  to  it ; 
that  He  has  spoken  first ;  that,  as  in  a  palimp- 
sest, deep,  deep  below  all  the  writing  of  doubt 
and  unbelief  is  the  writing  of  God,  and  shall 
remain  there,  either  in  an  eternity  of  blessed- 
ness or  anguish. 

When  believers,  who  walk  with  God,  testify 
of  their  inward  experience  of  the  reality  of 
divine  revelation,  it  may  seem  at  first  as  if  they 
were   deficient   in   the  wisdom   of  love,  which 


1 1  o    The  Expei'ieiiced  Reality  of  Revelation. 

adapts  itself  to  the  position  and  capacity  of  the 
hearer.  But  both  Scripture  and  experience 
teach  us  that  such  is  the  best  and  most  loving 
method.  We  are  bound  to  remove  difficulties 
and  to  answer  objections.  It  is  profitable  also 
to  point  out  those  peculiarities  and  excellencies 
in  the  Scriptures,  which  distinguish  them  as 
unique  in  kind,  and  unparalleled  in  the  literature 
of  the  world.  It  is  rieht  to  brinof  forward  the 
great  and  unanswerable  evidence  of  prophecy, 
which  is  miracle  stereotyped  for  the  reading  of 
all  orenerations.  It  is  instructive  and  stimulatingf 
to  review  the  wonderful  effects  produced  through 
this  book  in  every  age  of  the  world's  history, 
among  all  nations,  and  on  every  variety  of  man- 
kind^ — ignorant  and  learned,  high  and  low,  young 
and  old.  The  outward  bulwarks  and  fortresses, 
defending  the  citadel  of  Scripture,  are  strong 
and  impregnable  ;  the  inward  beauty  and  excel- 
lence, of  unequalled  magnitude  and  attractive- 
ness. And  yet,  to  use  the  words  of  one  of 
the  Confessions  of  the  Reformation,^  when  the 

^  The  Reformers'  teaching  on  the  authority  of  Scripture  was 
singularly  lucid  and  spiritual.  It  was  the  teaching  of  men  who 
had  experienced  the  reality  of  divine  revelation.  Hence,  while 
they  opposed  the  pseudo-mysticism  of  those  who  exalted  the 
inward  revelation  over  the  letter  of  Scripture,  they  always  laid 
great  stress  on  the  teaching  and  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  with- 
out whom  Scripture  is  as  a  sun-dial  without  the  sun. 


The  Experienced  Reality  of  Revelation.    1 1 1 

authority  of  the  Scriptures  was  held  in  so  scrip- 
tural a  way,  as  connected  with  the  supreme 
authority,  power,  and  light  of  the  Holy  Ghost : 
"  We  may  be  moved  and  induced  by  the  testi- 
mony of  the  Church  to  an  high  and  reverend 
esteem  of  the  holy  Scripture,  and  the  heavenli- 
ness  of  the  matter,  the  efficacy  of  the  doctrine, 
the  majesty  of  the  style,  the  consent  of  all  the 
parts,  the  scope  of  the  whole  (which  is  to  give 
all  glory  to  God),  the  full  discovery  it  makes  of 
the  only  way  of  man's  salvation,  the  many  other 
incomparable  excellencies,  and  the  entire  per- 
fection thereof,  are  arguments  whereby  it  doth 
abundantly  evidence  itself  to  be  the  word  of 
God ;  yet,  notwithstanding,  our  full  persuasion 
and  assurance  of  the  infallible  truth  and  divine 
authority  thereof  is  from  the  inward  work  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  bearing  witness  by  and  with 
the  Word  in  our  hearts." 

He  who  accepts  the  Scriptures  on  external 
evidence,  including  even  the  sublimity  of  the 
doctrine  it  contains,  without  experiencing  in  his 
heart  that  God  is  in  the  present  speaking  to 
him  in  this  written  Word,  still  stands  without, 
and  has  not  yet  received  the  testimony  of  the 
Spirit.  Scripture  is  still  an  external  authority 
to  him,  because  as  yet  the  word  of  God  as  such 
has  not  been  received,  and  does  not  abide  in 


1 1 2     The  Experienced  Reality  of  Revelation. 

his  heart.^  Our  great  object  Is  to  testify  to 
such  that  God  Hves;  that  He  who  spake  of 
old  by  the  prophets,  and  at  last  in  His  Son, 
who  gave  a  record  of  His  revelation  in  the 
Scriptures,  now  reveals  Himself  by  the  Word 
to  the  soul,  when  the  Spirit  manifests  Christ 
to  our  hearts.  We  are  sent  to  testify  of  Christ 
according  to  the  Scripture  ;  not  to  defend  the 
Scripture,  which  points  to  Christ. 

Hence  that  which  is  our  grreat  messao-e  is  not 
in  the  region  of  human  argument  and  ratio- 
cination, criticism,  and  evidence,  although  con- 
nected with  it ;  it  announces  an  experience,  a 
new  life  ;  it  is  received  by  a  new  birth  ;  it  is 
accompanied  by  the  heavenly  power  and  demon- 
stration of  the  Holy  Ghost.* 

God  lives :  this  is  the  testimony  of  the  Church. 
He  lives,  and  He  is  Love.      Hence  we  believe 

3  A  very  interesting  illustration  of  these  remarks  will  be  found 
in  Dr.  D.  Brown's  Life  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Difucan,  page  157,  when 
Dr.  Malan  said  to  him,  "  You  have  the  word  of  God  in  your 
mouth,"  it  passed  through  me  like  electricity,  that  Cod  meant 
man  to  know  His  mind.  Cf.  page  175,  &c.,  where  also  the  same 
view  I  have  endeavoured  to  unfold  is  elucidated  by  refer- 
ences to  John  Owen,  Halyburton,  and  Olshausen.  In  modern 
times  much  stress  has  been  laid  on  the  internal  evidences,  or 
the  self-evidencing  light  and  power  of  Scripture.  This  is  very 
valuable,  but  there  may  still  be  in  this  the  rationalistic  leaven 
of  the  old  evidence  school.  The  internal  evidences  are  also  of 
no  use  without  the  enlightening  influence  and  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  '*  i  Cor.  ii. 


The  Experienced  Reality  of  Revelatio7i.    1 1 3 

in  miracle,  God  interfering  in  redemptive  mercy  ; 
in  prophecy,  God  interfering  in  redeeming  wis- 
dom/ We  believe  that  God  speaks  to  us,  and 
gives  unto  us  deliverance  from  sin  and  evil,  and 
the  assurance  of  His  favour  ;  nay,  we  experience 
that  we  live  before,  wath,  and  in  Him.  We 
believe  that  what  corresponds  to  the  longings 
and  desires  of  our  minds  and  hearts  is  not  any- 
thing abstract  and  impersonal,  but  the  living 
God  Himself.  "  He  that  formed  the  eye,"  we 
say  with  the  psalmist,  "shall  He  not  see?" 
Not,  Is  He  not  light?  but.  Is  He  not  the  See- 
ing One  ?  "  He  that  planted  the  ear,  shall  He 
not  hear  ? "  What  corresponds  to  the  eye,  or 
the  light-receptive,  light-desiring  element  in 
man,  is  another  Eye,  full  of  light,  all-seeing. 
What  alone  responds  to  the  love  of  man  is 
God,  who  is  Love.  What  alone  can  renew  and 
heal  man's  will  is  another  Will,  even  God,  who 

5  Miracle  is  not  the  evidence  of  what  we  beheve,  rather  is  it 
the  very  thing  which  we  beheve.  It  is  a  constitutive  element  of 
our  creed,  that  God  Himself,  in  His  omnipotent  love,  interferes 
to  redeem  us  from  evil,  and  to  renew  us  after  His  image.  It  is 
not  evidence  that  is  wanted  to  verify  the  miracle  ;  the  very  men 
who  saw  Lazarus  rise  from  the  grave  believed  not.  The  organ 
is  wanted  to  recognise  the  interference  of  the  living  God  in 
saving  love.  Jesus,  after  His  resurrection,  appeared  only  to  His 
chosen  disciples  ;  and  they,  as  witnesses,  not  defenders  of  His 
resurrection,  preached  Him  according  to  the  Scripture — with 
the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven. 

I 


1 1 4    The  Experienced  Reality  of  Revelation, 

worketh  all  things  of  His  good  pleasure.  Thus 
from  the  very  outset  we  are  drawn  to  the  solemn 
and  most  blessed  conclusion,  that  God,  infinite 
above  us,  is  to  be  known  and  experienced  by 
love,  by  His  dwelling  within  us.^ 

Why  should  it  be  deemed  strange  that  there 
is  communion  between  God  and  man,  when 
the  deepest  and  simplest  knowledge  we  have 
of  God  is,  "  God  is  love "  (and  love  is  never 
silent) ;  when  the  truest  conception  we  can  form 
of  man  is,  that  He  is  created  in  the  image 
of  God  ?  What  are  all  laws  compared  with 
this  fundamental  law — nay,  so  to  speak,  this 
source  and  origin  of  all  law — "God  is  love"? 
Or,  what  is  there  in  man,  who  alone  of  all  earthly 
creatures  lifts  up  his  eye  to  heaven,  that  renders 
it  impossible  or  improbable  that  God  should 
speak  to  him  and  hear  his  voice  ?  And  where 
else  but  in  this  communion  can  the  human  heart 
find  rest  ?  Are  we  not  constantly  seeking  in 
the  created,  and  seeking  in  vain,  that  Thou, 
who  can  understand  and  satisfy  the  heart,  who 
can  be  loved  supremely,  and  whose  love  can  be 
an  ever-increasing  joy  and  blessedness  to  us, 
to  us,  who  have  to  confess — 

*  Jesus  speaks  of  the  eye  as  the  light  of  the  body — the  eye, 
seeing  in  God.  Man  is  created  for  God,  to  live,  move,  and  be 
in  Him. 


The  Experienced  Reality  of  Revelation.    1 1 5 

"  Not  e'en  the  dearest  heart,  and  next  our  own, 
Knows  half  the  reason  why  we  smile  or  sigh  "  ? 

Is  there  no  authority  and  attractive  power  in 
the  only  Voice  that  says,  "  Give  Me,  my  son, 
thy  heart."  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God"?^ 

But  the  question  arises.  Is  such  a  communion 
possible  ?  Can  fallen  and  exiled  man  rise  to 
this  height  ?  Can  the  holy  and  righteous  God 
thus  descend  to  sinful  and  guilty  man  ? 

How  bright  is  the  light  which  emanates  from 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ !  In  Him  we  behold 
God  manifest  in  the  flesh  ;  in  Him  we  see  also 
man  according  to  the  divine  idea.  The  very- 
fact  of  the  Incarnation  announces  to  us  the 
great  purpose  of  God,  that  we  are  to  be  par- 
takers of  the  divine  nature— that  a  real  and 
eternal  communion  is  to  be  established  between 
God  and  man.     Is  not  Jesus  in  His  own  person 

'  "Love  thy  God,  and  love  Him  only, 
And  thy  breast  will  ne'er  be  lonely. 
In  that  one  great  Spirit  meet 
All  things  mighty,  grave,  and  sweet. 

Vainly  strives  the  soul  to  mingle 
With  a  being  of  our  kind  ; 
Vainly  hearts  with  hearts  are  twined, 

For  the  deepest  still  is  single. 
An  impalpable  resistance 
Holds  like  natures  at  a  distance. 
Mortal !  love  that  Holy  One, 
Or  dwell  for  aye  alone."  Aubrey  de  Vere. 


1 1 6     The  Experienced  Reality  of  Revelation. 

the  full  realization  of  the  word,  "  Draw  nigh  to 
God,  and  He  will  draw  nigh  to  you  "  ? 

Is  not  His  whole  life  a  life  of  communion 
with  God,  so  that  He  always  is,  speaks,  and 
works  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  Him  ? 
And  does  not  this,  His  inexistence  in  the  Father, 
prepare  us  for  the  mystery  which  He  revealed 
"  plainly "  and  without  parable  on  that  memo- 
rable evening,  that  He  came  from  the  Father, 
and  again  was  going  to  the  Father,  and  to 
the  glory  which  He  had  with  Him  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world  ?  When  we  thus  behold 
the  man  Christ  Jesus,  and  believe  that  He  is 
the  Son  of  God,  does  not  the  hope  arise  in  our 
hearts,  that  He  came,  not  to  abide  alone,  not 
merely  to  manifest  the  Father  and  the  divine 
eternal  life,  wrought  into  humanity,  but  to  com- 
municate \}i\\'s,  life  unto  us,  so  that  we  also,  through 
and  in  Him,  should  have  communion  with  God  ? 
How  gladly  do  we  then  receive  the  mystery  of 
His  death  and  resurrection,  that  by  the  sacrifice 
of  Himself  Jesus  has  taken  away  all  that  sepa- 
rated us  from  God,  and  has  Himself  become 
the  new  and  living  way  of  access  unto  the 
Father;  that  by  His  resurrection  He  became 
the  First-born  among  many  brethren,  and  that, 
as  the  quickening  Spirit,  He  is  now  our  life. 

Here  is  the  point  from  which  all  revelation 


The  Experienced  Reality  of  Revelation.    1 1 7 

is  seen  as  possible  and  real.  It  was  only  after 
the  disciples  understood  the  mystery  of  Christ's 
death  and  resurrection,  that  they  "understood 
the  Scriptures."  They  had  always  believed  the 
Scriptures  to  be  the  "  oracles  of  God,"  and  re- 
garded them  with  profound  veneration  as  the 
very  word  of  the  Most  High.  They  had 
gathered  around  Jesus,  drawn  by  the  sweet  and 
irresistible  magnet  of  His  light  and  love,  and 
an  inward  conviction  made  them  exclaim  joy- 
fully, "We  have  found  the  Messiah — Him  of 
whom  Moses  in  the  law,  and  the  prophets,  did 
write!"  And  yet,  as  the  evangelist  John  testi- 
fies, they  did  not  know  the  Scripture,  even 
when  the  words  and  facts,  which  they  heard  and 
saw,  w^ere  the  clearest  and  fullest  comment  on 
the  written  record.  "Jesus  spake  of  the  temple 
of  His  body.  .  .  .  When  therefore  He  was  risen 
from  the  dead.  His  disciples  remembered  that 
He  had  said  this  unto  them  ;  and  they  believed 
the  Scripture^  and  the  Word  which  Jesus  had 
said."« 

The  same  misconception,  which  fancies  a 
collocation  of  Messianic  passages,  and  their 
fulfilment  in  the  New  Testament,  is  all  that  is 
needed  to  convince  a  modern  Jew  of  the  truth 
of  Christianity,   prevents  a   realization  of   the 

^  John  ii.  21-23. 


1 1 8    The  Experienced  Reality  of  Revelation. 

manner  in  which  the  apostles  beHeved.  The 
Messianic  passages  are  indeed  numerous,  for- 
cible, and,  viewed  in  their  connection,  they  form 
the  grand  foundation  of  apstolic  doctrine.  But, 
excepting  acquaintance  with  their  general  tenor, 
and  the  expectation  of  the  Messiah,  we  may  say 
it  was  Jesus  who  led  the  disciples  to  the  Mes- 
sianic passages,  and  not  the  observed  fulfilment 
of  the  predictions  which  brought  the  disciples 
to  the  Lord, 

It  is  the  risen  Saviour  who  explains  to  us  the 
mystery,  "  through  suffering  unto  glory."  This 
is  the  key,  and  the  only  one,  which  opens  to  us 
the  Scriptures.  Jesus  is  the  true  David,  who 
possesses  the  key.  And  while  He  thus  speaks, 
our  hearts  burn  within  us  ;  and  it  is  this  glowing 
heart  which  receives  the  indelible  impression  : 
Jesus  is  the  Christ  of  Scripture,  and  Scripture 
is  the  word  of  God.  As  truly  as  Jesus  is  the 
Word,  the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour  of  sinners, 
the  Source  of  resurrection-life,  so  true  is  it  that 
the  Scripture  is  the  divinely-given  record,  testi- 
fying of  Him. 

"  Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus  it  behoved 
Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  from  the  dead  the 
third  day."  This  is  the  strong  and  indissoluble, 
the  tender  and  thrilling  bond,  which  connects 
our  deepest  experience  of  the  revelation  and 


The  Experienced  Reality  of  Revelatio7i.    1 1 9 

love  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  with  the  inspired 
Scriptures,  Our  communion  with  Jesus  intro- 
duces us  into  the  full  acceptance  of  the  divine 
record.  And  as  Jesus,  in  whose  name  we  pray, 
and  who  is  the  fulfilment  of  our  petitions,  prayed 
Himself,  and  thus  is  the  true  Mediator,  so  Jesus, 
sum  and  substance,  centre  and  glory,  of  the 
written  Word,  lived  Himself  in  the  constant 
faith,  meditation,  and  comfort  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  thus  leads  all  His  disciples  to  be  followers 
of  Him,  knowing  the  Scriptures  and  the  power 
of  God.^ 

Now  Scripture  is  seen  in  its  beauty,  and  we 
feel  at  Jioine  in  this  vast  and  magnificent  temple. 
From  the  height  of  Grod's  eternal  counsel,  and 
out  of  the  depth  of  God's  infinite  love,  Scripture 
beholds  all  things,  comprehends  all  ages,  and 
is  sufficient  for  the  guidance  and  perfecting  of 
souls  in  all  generations. 

But  while  we  thus  stand  in  awe,  beholding 
the  grandeur  and  infinite  depth  of  the  Scripture 
as  one  organic  spirit-built  temple,  and  the  beauty, 
perfection,  and  exquisite  skill  which  characterize 
the  most  minute  portion  of  this  structure,  we 
feel  at  home  and  as  in  a  peaceful  and  fragrant 
garden.  We  see  Jesus,  the  Centre,  and  though 
many  things  are  obscure,  and  all  things  of  un- 

9  Compare  my  Christ  and  the  Scripture,  chap.  ii. 


1 20    The  Experienced  Reality  of  Revelation. 

fathomable  depth,  yet  all  is  full  of  light  and 
peace. 

And  this  also  betokens  the  divine  origin  of 
Scripture,  that  while  it  forms  one  organism, 
every  portion  of  it  is  complete,  is  spirit  and  life. 
All  ages  of  the  Church  cannot  exhaust  its  ful- 
ness, and  yet  Timothy  knows  it  from  a  little 
child,  and  is  made  wise  unto  salvation.  To 
take  comprehensive  views  is  granted  unto  us  at 
times,  but  one  single  verse  or  psalm,  one  name 
of  God  or  promise,  brings  unto  us,  as  it  were, 
the  power  and  consolation  of  the  whole.  N  othing 
made  of  man  possesses  this  wonderful  pecu- 
liarity of  the  Spirit's  work. 

There  is  no  book  which  so  reveals  to  us  our 
inmost  self — sin  in  its  depth  of  guilt  and  misery 
— and  which  at  the  same  time  testifies  of  the 
love  of  God,  redeeming,  healing,  and  restoring. 
Nowhere  but  here  do  we  see  the  depth  of  the 
fall,  and  the  height  of  glory  to  which  God  in 
His  omnipotent  grace  raises  redeemed  man. 
The  grandeur  of  the  remedy  both  unfolds  the 
depth  of  our  misery,  and  comforts  us  in  our 
sorrow.  Men  have  often  pointed  out  the  sinful- 
ness and  wretchedness  of  man,  and  they  either 
degrade  him,  forgetting  his  high  nature  and 
destiny,  or  leave  him  in  despondency.  Where 
else  but  in  this  divine  Word  do  we  learn  the 


The  Experienced  Reality  of  Revelation.    1 2 1 

dignity  and  elevation  of  humility  before  God  ; 
so  that,  lying  at  the  footstool  of  divine  mercy, 
the  contrite  and  broken  heart  does  not  feel 
degraded,  but  exalted  ?  Where  but  here  do  we 
see  man  raised  to  communion  with  the  Most 
High — yea,  to  union  with  the  incarnate  Son  of 
God — -and  yet  retain  the  spirit  of  lowliness,  of 
self-condemnation,  of  utter  dependence  on  divine 
grace  ?  It  is  this  combination  of  the  full  revela- 
tion of  our  sin,  disease,  and  misery,  and  of  the 
abundant  grace  of  God,  which  produces  in  us, 
in  our  inmost  soul,  the  assured  conviction  of  the 
divine  authority  of  Scripttire,  of  God's  own 
voice  speaking  to  us  in  this  inspired  Word. 

No  other  book  is  such  a  mirror  both  of  man 
and  of  God.  Here  we  see  our  own  countenance, 
and  we  are  humbled  ;  here  we  see  the  counte- 
nance of  God,  and  we  are  comforted.  Here  we 
behold  the  human  heart,  with  its  unbelief,  its 
selfish  and  carnal  thoughts,  its  tendency  to 
hypocrisy,  to  seek  rest  in  mere  shadows.  In 
reading  Scripture,  we  feel  in  the  presence  of 
Him  unto  whose  eyes  all  things  are  naked  and 
open.  The  Word  is  like  a  sharp  sword  ;  all 
that  is  confused  and  mixed  in  our  thoughts  and 
hearts  is  severed,  the  heavenly  separated  from 
the  earthly,  and  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the 
heart  discerned.     When  in  this  book  we  read 


X 


12  2     The  Experienced  Reality  of  Revelation. 

the  experiences  of  God's  people,  the  patriarchs, 
the  wanderings  of  Israel  in  the  wilderness,  the 
life  of  David,  we  feel  that  we  are  reading  our 
own  history.  As  Ulysses  wept  when  he  heard 
his  own  sorrows  recited  by  the  minstrel  at  the 
court  of  king  Alkinoos,  so,  as  we  read  in  Scrip- 
ture of  the  sins,  failures,  hopes,  and  fears  of 
God's  children,  we  see  our  own  hearts  and  lives. 
When  the  inne^  life  of  God's  saints  is  unveiled 
to  us,  as  in  the  Psalms,  the  Book  of  Job,  the 
Lamentations  of  Jeremiah,  and  indeed  through- 
out Scripture,  so  that,  as  Luther  says,  "  we  see 
into  the  very  hearts  of  these  men,  and  not 
merely  behold  paradise  and  heaven  itself  there, 
but  also  death,  and  even  hell,"  we  possess  in 
these  apparently  subjective  and  purely  human 
delineations  the  teaching  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  who 
presents  to  us  truthfully  and  perfectly  the  conflict 
in  human  souls  between  God's  grace  and  their 
sin  and  weakness,  and  provides  us  with  a  guide- 
book in  which  all  possible  difficulties  and  errors 
are  noticed,  and  the  true  remedies  and  correc- 
tives indicated.  Hence  no  Scripture  is  purely 
human  and  temporary ;  all  Scripture  is  divine 
and  eternal.  It  possesses  vitality,  fulfilling  itself 
continually,  and  containing  throughout  the  reve- 
lation of  God's  character  and  of  God's  salvation. 
All  that  Scripture  asserts  of  itself  we  experience 


The  Experienced  Reality  of  Revelation.    1 23 

to  be  true.  The  Word  sifts  and  divides  what 
no  human  analysis  could  separate.  It  purifies 
and  intensifies  the  conscience;  it  exerts  a  cleans- 
ing and  vivifying  power  on  our  heart  and  walk. 
It  is  like  a  seed,  and  we  experience  that  it 
grows  ;  it  does  not  remain  dead  and  dormant 
in  the  memory  or  understanding ;  it  does  not 
remain  a  picture,  unsubstantial  in  the  imagina- 
tion, but  it  manifests  vitality,  and  mingles  with 
all  our  thoughts,  feelings,  and  actions.  It  re- 
mains ever  new,  and  ever  indispensable.  The 
Spirit  of  God  brings  it  into  remembrance,  and 
applies  it  with  power  and  consoling  efficacy. 
It  can  still  the  stormy  waves,  and  bring  peace ; 
it  can  dissipate  densest  darkness,  and  we  walk  in 
the  light,  and  do  not  stumble.  It  is  a  book  for 
life,  for  human  suffering,  work,  and  trial.  It  must 
be  lived,  and  not  merely  read.  It  leaves  nothing 
alone ;  it  passes  over  no  phase  of  experience. 
It  takes  cognizance  of  our  very  seasons  of 
apathy  and  of  sleep;  it  brings  before  us  our  worst 
and  most  hidden  thoughts,  doubts,  and  regrets, 
down  to  despair ;  it  throws  light  on  everything, 
and  brings  salutary  medicines  for  every  disease. 
And  thus  it  becomes  to  us  an  engrafted,  im- 
planted Word,  inseparably  connected  with  the 
Father,  with  the  living  Saviour,  and  with  the 
indwelling  Spirit.     God  reveals   Himself  con- 


124    The  Experienced  Reality  of  Revelation. 

tinually  to  us  in  the  Word — God  in  Christ  and 
by  the  Holy  Ghost, 

The  Scripture  reaches  the  highest  idea  of 
God's  hoHness  and  justice,  and  of  God's  tender- 
ness and  mercy.  It  is  merciful  in  its  severity ; 
it  is  holy  in  its  love.  Hence  the  rebukes  of 
Scripture  may  give  pain,  and  produce  godly 
sorrow ;  but  they  do  not  irritate,  embitter,  and 
harden.  The  consolations  of  Scripture  calm, 
but  they  do  not  weaken  and  effeminate.  The 
bitter  arrows  of  reproof  are  sent  by  the  loving 
hand  of  the  Father ;  the  words  of  warning  are 
uttered  by  the  voice  of  yearning  compassion, 
they  come  from  the  home  of  everlasting  truth 
and  peace.  It  is  God  who  speaks,  and  the 
love  revealed  is  holy ;  the  righteousness  and 
justice  declared,  full  of  truth  and  mercy. 

The  Scripture  testifies  of  things  unseen,  and 
brings  us  into  contact  with  heavenly  realities. 
"  God  being  invisible,  and  the  centre  and  soul 
of  that  which  is  invisible,  the  difficulty  we  find 
in  fixing  our  thoughts  upon  what  is  not  seen, 
arises  from  our  being  by  nature  at  a  distance 
from  God.  What  characterizes  the  word  of 
God  is,  that  its  life  and  action  are  centred  in 
the  things  not  seen  ;  and  this  fact  alone,  for  a 
man  who  reflects,  is  sufficient  to  prove  its  in- 
spiration.     It  is  not  given  to  man,  who  by  his 


The  Experieiiced  Reality  of  Revelation.    1 2  5 

fallen  nature  became  a  slave  to  thinofs  that  are 
seen,  to  rise  above  them ;  that  is  to  say,  to 
shake  off  self  sufficiently  to  rise  up  to  the 
unseen,  and  speak  from  the  midst  of  the  in- 
visible world  as  the  word  of  God  does  ;  as  not 
only  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of  man  does,  who  is 
in  heaven  and  speaks  from  heaven,  but  as  do 
all  those  agents  who  are  commissioned  to  trans- 
mit to  us  the  word  of  God,  which,  being  full  of 
Jesus  Christ,  speaks  from  heaven,  even  though 
upon  the  earth,  by  that  miracle  of  the  grace  of 
God  which  we  call  inspiration,  and  which  con- 
stitutes the  authority  of  His  word."^ 

The  Bible  is  the  divinely-given  guide-book  ; 
for  no  other  would  so  constantly  point  away  from 
itself  to  the  unseen,  spiritual,  loving  Guide ;  no 
other  would  warn  us  against  making  it  a  sub- 
stitute for  the  teaching  of  the  Spirit,  for  the 
presence  of  Jesus,  for  the  ever-renewed  mani- 
festation of  God, 

Thus  do  we  experience  the  reality  of  the 
Scripture  revelation,  unfolding  to  us,  in  con- 
nection with  all  God's  dealings  in  Providence, 
His  truth,  and  comforting  us  with  everlasting 
consolations.  As  we  advance  step  by  step, 
God  appears  greater  and  more  glorious ;  as 
we  receive  out  of  the  fulness  of  divine  wisdom, 

'  A.  Monod. 


126    The  Experienced  Reality  of  Revelation. 

we  feel  more  that  the  well  is  deep,  nay,  inex- 
haustible ;  for  we  are  brought  here  into  contact, 
not  with  the  powers  of  man,  stretched  to  the 
utmost,  and  giving  us  their  highest  conceptions 
of  divine  things,  but  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  who 
searcheth  the  deep  things  of  God,  and  revealeth 
to  us,  as  we  can  bear  it,  and  as  it  pleases  Him, 
out  of  the  ocean  of  divine  wisdom. 

Here  also  we  feel  our  profound  union  with 
all  God-taught  Christians,  in  that  very  convic- 
tion and  knowledge  of  spiritual  realities  which 
man  cannot  give  to  man — in  that  community  of 
light  and  life  which  in  Christ  Jesus,  the  crucified 
Redeemer,  the  Father  of  spirits  giveth  of  His 
abundant  mercy  through  the  Holy  Ghost. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  EXPERIENCED  REALITY  OF  PRAYER. 

"  Draw  7iigh  to  God,  and  He  will  draw  nigh  to  you." 
James  iv.  8. 

T  T  Is  a  fact  worthy  of  earnest  consideration, 
^  that  Scripture  never  attempts  to  remove 
the  doubts  and  difficulties  which  human  reason- 
ing advances  against  the  efficacy  of  prayer. 
The  argument  which  has  been  brought  forward 
against  prayer,  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word 
— that  is,  not  adoration  and  contemplation,  but 
petitions  offered  to  God  and  answered  by  Him, 
either  from  God's  omniscience  or  immutability, 
or  spontaneous  and  perfect  goodness — has  so 
far  been  anticipated  by  Scripture,  that  the  facts 
on  which  these  reasonings  seem  founded  are 
stated  in  the  word  of  God  with  greater  clear- 
ness, fulness,  and  uncompromising  definite- 
ness,  than  in  any  other  writings.  Where  do 
we  meet  with  such  lucid  and  forcible  state- 
ments as  in  Scripture,  teaching  us  that  God  is 
omniscient,   that   He  seeth  the  end  from   the 


128      The  Experienced  Reality  of  Prayer. 

beginning,  and  that  the  inmost  thoughts  and 
desires  are  known  to  Him,  even  in  their  most 
secret  origin,  and  before  we  ourselves  become 
conscious  of  them  ?^  How  emphatic  is  the 
Scripture  assertion  of  God's  sovereignty,  com- 
prehending all  things,  and  unchangeably  fore- 
ordaining whatsoever  comes  to  pass  in  time  ! 
"  The  counsel  of  the  Lord  standeth  for  ever, 
the  thoughts  of  His  heart  to  all  generations."^ 
"  He  worketh  all  things  after  the  counsel  of 
His  own  will."^  How  numerous  and  con- 
soling are  the  Scripture  assurances,  that  God 
delights  in  giving  and  in  showing  mercy,  and 
that  He  is  ever  bountiful,  and  that  He  blesses 
above  all  that  we  can  ask  or  think ! 

If  reason  therefore  says,  in  various  forms, 
*  Prayer  is  unnecessary,  because  God  knows  all 
things,  and  is  full  of  goodness  to  bless  and  to 
help,'  or  '  Prayer  is  of  no  avail,  because  there  is 
no  room  for  its  action,  as  all  things  are  ordered 
and  under  the  reign  of  fixed  and  all-wise  law,' 
the  difference  between  reasoning  and  Scripture 
is  mostly,  though  not  altogether,  in  the  in- 
ferences deduced  from  premises,  the  knowledge 
of  which,  in  so  far  as  they  are  accurate,  was 
originally  derived  from  the  divine  revelation 
itself. 

'  Ps.  cxxxix.  ^  Ps.  xxxiii.  ii.  3  Eph.  i.  ii. 


The  Experienced  Reality  of  Prafer.      1 29 

The  Scripture  method  of  deahng-  with  these 
erroneous  inferences  is  simply  to  ignore  them. 
As  Scripture  always  pre-supposes  faith  in  the 
existence  of  God,  so  it  does  not  prove  the 
reality  and  efficacy  of  prayer,  but  continually 
takes  belief  in  it  for  granted,  asserting  and 
illustrating  it  in  every  variety  of  form. 

God  hears  prayer.  This  simplest  view  of 
prayer  is  taken  throughout  Scripture.  It  dwells 
not  on  the  reflex  influence  of  prayer  on  our 
heart  and  life,  although  it  abundantly  shows  the 
connection  between  prayer  as  an  act,  and  prayer 
as  a  state.  It  rather  fixes  with  great  definite- 
ness  the  objective  or  real  purpose  of  prayer,  to 
obtain  blessings,  gifts,  deliverances,  from  God. 
"Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you,"'^  Jesus  says  to 
us.  "Ask  what  I  shall  ^^W  thee," ^  Jehovah  said 
to  Solomon.  "  Call  upon  Me  in  the  day  of 
trouble,  and  I  will  deliver  thee."'^  "  If  any  man 
lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  ,  .  .  and  it  shall  be 
given  him."'' 

Besides  commandments  so  simple  and  definite 
in  their  objective  character,  we  have  the  clearest 
statements  of  fact  that  God  answered  prayer. 
The  passages  stating  that  God  heard  prayer  are 
too  numerous  to  quote.      In  the   107th  Psalm 

"*  Matt.  vii.  7.  5  I  Kings  iii.  5. 

*  Ps.  1.  14.  ^  James  i.  5. 


130      The  Experienced  Reality  of  Prayer. 

the  need  and  misery  of  man  is  described  under 
four  images,  and  in  each  the  history  is  the  same : 
man,  brought  low,  cries  to  God  in  his  helpless- 
ness, and  God  delivers  him.  "  They  cried  unto 
the  Lord,  and  He  delivered  them  out  of  their 
distresses."   {vv.  6,  13,  19,  28.) 

All  the  great  manifestations  of  divine  power 
and  grace  are  connected  in  Scripture  with  prayer. 
Even  when  prayer  is  not  mentioned  in  the  narra- 
tive itself,  it  is  sometimes  brought  before  us  in 
some  subsequent  portion  of  Scripture,  to  remind 
us  of  the  uniform  dealings  of  God,  connecting 
His  grace  and  power  with  believing  prayer. 
Thus  the  prophet  Elijah  appeared  before  Ahab 
with  the  declaration,  "As  the  Lord  God  of  Israel 
liveth,  there  shall  not  be  dew  nor  rain  these 
years,  but  according  to  my  word."  \n  the  epistle 
of  James  we  are  told  that  this  announcement  of 
faith  was  the  result  of  fervent  prayer.  Perhaps 
the  most  striking  illustration,  or  rather  unveiling, 
of  the  power  of  prayer  is  in  the  memorable 
passages  of  the  prophecy  of  Daniel  :  "And 
whiles  I  was  speaking,  and  praying,  and  con- 
fessing my  sin  and  the  sin  of  my  people  Israel, 
and  presenting  my  supplication  before  the  Lord 
my  God  for  the  holy  mountain  of  my  God  ; 
yea,  whiles  I  was  speaking  in  prayer,  even  the 
man  Gabriel,  whom  I  had  seen  in  the  vision  at 


The  Experienced  Reality  of  Prayei^.      1 3  i 

the  beginning,  being'  caused  to  lly  swiftly,  touched 
me  about  the  time  of  the  evening  oblation.  And 
he  informed  me,  and  talked  with  me,  and  said, 
O  Daniel,  I  am  now  come  forth  to  give  thee 
skill  and  understandinij.  At  the  beo'innino-  of 
thy  supplications  the  commandment  came  forth, 
and  I  am  come  to  shew  thee;  for  thou  art  greatly 
beloved  :  therefore  understand  the  matter,  and 
consider  the  vision,"*^ 

Here  we  see,  as  it  were,  the  fulfilment  of  the 
divine  promise  to  Israel :  "  If  my  people,  which 
are  called  by  my  name,  shall  humble  themselves, 
and  pray,  and  seek  my  face  ;  .  .  .  .  then  will  I 
hear  from  heaven''^  Daniel's  prayer  ascends 
to  the  throne  of  God  ;  and  at  the  beginning  of 
his  supplication,  God  gives  the  commandment 
to  the  anorel  Gabriel  to  brinof  the  divine  answer 
Linto  the  greatly-beloved  man,  or  the  man  of 
intense  spiritual  desire. 

All  these  assurances  of  Scripture,  illustrated 
by  almost  every  great  saint  in  Israel's  history, 
from  Abraham  to  Moses,  to  Samuel,  to  David, 
to  Elijah,  to  Daniel,  are  brought  before  us  with 
a  still  more  intense  brightness  in  the  person, 
teaching,  and  example  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  He 
is  in  all  things  the  Mediator  ;  prayer  and  answer 
to  prayer  are  embodied  in  Him  as  their  eternal 

^  Dan.  ix.  20-23.  '  -  Chron.  vii.  14. 


132      The  Experienced  Reality  of  Prayer. 

Centre.  He  who  is  the  way  from  man  to  God, 
and  the  way  from  God  to  man,  is  the  prayer  of 
God's  children  to  the  Father,  and  the  Yea  and 
Amen  of  God's  promises  to  the  children.  He 
was  a  Man  of  prayer,  and  all  His  disciples  knew 
that  He  was  heard  :  "  I  know  that,  whatsoever 
Thou  wilt  ask  of  God,  God  will  give  it  Thee."^ 
In  Jesus  praying — in  the  distinct  command  of 
Jesus  to  pray,  and  to  pray  in  His  name — in  His 
oft-repeated  and  most  forcible  assurances  of  the 
certain  answer  from  God,  the  Scripture  testi- 
mony concerning  prayer  reaches  its  culminating 
point ;  and  it  is  from  this  central  light  that  the 
Christian's  experience  of  the  reality  of  prayer 
must  continually  emanate  and  be  renewed. 

However  true  and  valuable  the  reflection 
may  be,  that  God,  foreseeing  and  foreordaining 
all  things,  has  also  foreseen  and  foreordained 
our  prayers  as  links  in  the  chain  of  events,  of 
sequences,  of  cause  and  effect,  as  a  real  power 
and  influence,  or  viewed  from  the  Christian's 
point,  that  prayer  like  faith  is  one  of  the  cove- 
nant gifts  and  blessings  ;  yet  we  feel  convinced 
that  this  is  not  the  light  in  which  the  mind  can 
find  peace  on  this  great  subject,  nor  do  we  think 
that  here  is  the  attractive  power  to  draw  us  to 

,  '  John  xi.  22. 


The  Experienced  Reality  of  Prayer.      133 

prayer.  We  feel  rather  that  such  a  reflection 
diverts  the  attention  from  the  Object,  whence 
alone  comes  the  life,  impulse,  and  strength  of 
prayer.  It  may  be  a  valuable  thought  after  we 
have  prayed  and  been  heard,  but  it  has  no  power 
to  draw  out  prayer.  The  living  God,  cotem- 
porary  and  not  merely  eternal — the  loving, 
merciful,  compassionate,  righteous,  and  holy 
One — God  manifesting  Himself  to  the  soul — 
God  saying,  "  Give  me,  my  son,  thy  heart ;  "  or^ 
"  Ask  what  shall  I  give  thee ; "  or,  "  Seek  my 
face  ; "  or,  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God," — this 
is  the  magnet  that  draws  us — this  alone  can 
open  heart  and  lips. 

We  may  by  careful  explanation  succeed  in 
keeping  such  minds  as  are  capable  of  such 
thoughts  from  mistaking  our  attempt  to  harmo- 
nize the  eternal  counsel  of  God  and  prayer,  for 
the  cold  regions  of  dead  and  silent  fatalism^ 
where  there  is  no  voice  and  no  response.  The 
Scripture  method  is  entirely  different ;  it  con- 
nects prayer  with  the  self-manifestation  of  the 
living  God.  The  knowledge  of  God,  as  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  is  the  root  and  foundation 
of  prayer  ;  the  simple  word,  "  God  is  love,"  the 
unanswerable  argument  arainst  all  doubts. 

For  we  can  only  speak  to  a  Person,  to 
One  living  now,  listening  to  us.    Because  God 


134      'r^^^  Experienced  Reality  of  Prayer. 

lived  from  all  eternity,  does  He  not  live  now  ? 
Because  God  has  foreseen  all  things,  does  He 
not  see  this  instant  my  need,  my  sorrow,  my 
heart  crying  out  for  Him  ?  Because  there  is 
no  evil  in  the  city  but  the  Lord  has  foreseen 
it,  and  connected  it  with  the  development  of 
His  kingdom,  and  the  manifestation  of  His 
character,  is  He  not  testifying  to  me  against 
all  evil,  and  willing  and  able  to  deliver  me,  nay, 
to  be  asked  not  to  lead  me  into  temptation  ? 
The  highest  idea  of  God,  as  revealed  unto 
Israel,  and  at  last  in  all  its  fulness  in  Jesus 
Christ,  is  connected  with  prayer.  "  God  is 
Spirit,"  the  Lord  taught  the  woman  of  Samaria. 
"He  seeth  in  secret,"  Jesus  repeatedly  says  in 
the  sermon  on  the  mount.  And  what  is  the 
inference  ?  God  is  Spirit,  God  is  Father,  and 
therefore  He  seeks  zvorshippers.  "  He  seeth  in 
secret,"  and  therefore  prayer  is  delivered  from 
all  fetters  and  all  limitations.  Pray,  and  God 
hears.  God  forgives  sin,  He  removes  our  trans- 
o^ressions,  and  clothes  us  with  divine  riofhteous- 
ness,  in  order  that  He  may  be  worshipped." 
All  that  we  know  now  of  God  is,  that  having 
removed  all  obstacles  which  were  in  the  way,  it 
is  His  will  and  delight  that  we  should  come  to 
Him,  that  we  should  live  in  spiritual  communion 

^  Ps.  cxxx.  4. 


The  Experienced  Reality  of  Prayer.      135 

with  Him — spiritual,  that  means  real,  inward, 
our  very  self  speaking  to  Him,  and  living  in 
His  presence,  jesus  therefore  continually  com- 
mands us  to  pray  to  the  Father,  who  Himself, 
in  spontaneous  and  infinite  love,  loveth  us  in 
time  and  in  eternity. 

In  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God  and  the  Son 
of  man,  we  have  the  full  solution  of  the  difficulty. 
He  prayed  on  earth,  and  that  not  merely  as  man, 
but  as  the  Son  of  God  incarnate.  His  prayer 
on  earth  is  only  the  manifestation,  in  His  state 
of  humiliation,  of  His  prayer  after  His  exalta- 
tion, and  of  His  prayer  from  all  eternity,  when 
in  the  divine  counsel  He  was  set  up  as  the 
Christ.  The  intercession  of  the  Lord  Jesus  is 
based  on  His  death,  resurrection,  and  ascension. 
He  is  our  Advocate,  because  He  is  our  Right- 
eousness. He  is  our  Representative,  because 
He  is  our  Head,  the  last  Adam.  The  Lord 
Jesus  identifies  Himself  with  us,  and  the  Father 
regards  Christ  and  the  Church  as  one.  Our 
prayers  ascend  with,  through,  and  in  Christ's 
prayer.  Thus  the  Father  hears  only  one  voice, 
the  voice  of  the  Son,  whom  He  heareth  (an- 
swereth)  alway.  On  the  other  hand,  Jesus, 
identifying  Himself  with  the  Father,  sends  the 
Spirit  into  our  hearts,  so  that  we  pray  in  the 
Spirit,  according  to  God's  will,  in  the  name  of 


136      The  Experienced  Reality  of  Prayer. 

Christ ;  we  offer  the  very  petitions  which  Jesus 
presents  on  our  behalf. 

But  the  intercession  or  prayer  of  the  Son  of 
God  did  not  begin  in  time.  We  must  conceive 
of  it  as  eternal.  Not  merely  did  the  saints 
of  God  before  the  advent  draw  near  to  God's 
throne  through  His  mediation  (more  or  less 
clearly  apprehended),  but  He  is  the  Beginning 
of  the  creation  of  God.  He  was  appointed  to 
be  heir  of  all  thingfs.  He  is  the  Lamb  fore- 
ordained  from  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world.  All  things  were  ordained  and  created 
for  the  manifestation  of  God's  glory  in  Christ. 
And  thus  the  Son  of  God  was  from  all  eternity 
the  Mediator,  the  Way.  He  was,  to  use  our  im- 
perfect language,  from  eternity  speaking  unto  the 
Father  on  behalf  of  the  world,  on  behalf  of  the 
manifestation  of  God's  glory  in  His  love.  And 
the  Father  from  all  eternity  hears  the  Son,  gives 
unto  Him,  and  is  glorified  in  Him,^ 

3  "  We  do  not  realize  sufficiently  the  distinctness  of  the  Per- 
sons in  the  unity  of  the  Godhead.  The  eternal  life  of  Liod  is 
the  communion  of  the  Three  blessed  Ones  ;  'each  divine  Person' 
—  to  use  the  words  of  Schmieder — 'vvorkfng  in  His  peculiar 
sphere  in  original  and  creative  glory  that  which  the  other 
Persons  could  not  work  and  express  in  the  same  way.'"  {Hohe- 
priesterliche  Gebet.)  "  Thus  the  Son  spoke  from  all  eternity  to 
the  Father,  and  the  Father  answered  and  gave  ;  and  herein  is 
the  Father's  glory  and  joy,  as  well  as  the  glory  and  joy  of  the 
Son.     That  there  might  be  a  glory  given  the  Son  from  ever- 


The  Experienced  Reality  of  Prayer.      137 

God,  in  hearing  His  Son,  heard  only  the  echo 
of  His  own  will.  As  we  distinguish  the  persons, 
we  hold  fast  the  unity,  of  the  Godhead.  The 
Father's  will  and  the  Son's  prayer  are  one  ;  yet 
is  the  Son's  prayer  real  ;  even  as  now  Christ 
assures  us  that  He  prays  for  us ;  and  again,  to 
remind  us  of  His  oneness  with  the  Father,  He 
adds,  "  I  say  not,  I  will  pray  unto  the  Father ; 
for  the  Father  Himself  loveth  you." 

There  is  no  antagonism  between  prayer  in  time 
and  the  unchangeable  will  of  God  in  eternity; 
for  Christ — the  Wisdom  set  up  from  everlasting; 

lasting  is  clear  from  this,  that  there  was  the  highest  and  freest 
mutual  converse  held  between  the  Three  Persons  amongst  them- 
selves from  everlasting,  when  no  creature  was ;  and  in  that  con- 
verse they  drove  and  carried  on  designs  of  what  was  to  come, 
and  gave  the  glory  to  one  another,  of  what  each  of  them  was, 
or  should  be,  or  do,  in  their  several  activities,  to  all  eternity. 
They  spake  one  to  another,  and  one  of  another,  as  Heb.  x. : 
the  Son  of  man  said  to  the  Father,  'A  body  hast  Thou  prepared 
Me;'  and  the  Father  to  the  Son,  'Thou  art  my  Son;  this  day 
have  I  begotten  Thee.'  And  this  latter  was  from  everlasting,  in 
the  decreeing  of  it,  spoken  to  Him  ;  for  the  words  spoken  before 
are,  '■J  will  decla7-e  the  decreed  Whereof  that  speech  therefore 
was  the  matter.  Likewise  there  were  mutual  engagements  and 
promises  passed  between  tliem.  (Titus  i.  i,  2.)  Eternal  life  was 
promised  afore  the  world  began  ;  and  there  must  be  an  inter- 
course of  persons  promising,  and  that  received  and  accepted  the 
promise.  And  in  like  manner  in  their  converses  they  glorified 
one  another.  '  The  Spirit  shall  glorify  Me,'  says  Christ.  (John 
xvi.  14.)  He  says  it  indeed  of  His  glorifying  Christ  to  us;  but 
if  He  doeth  it  to  us,  much  more  among  themselves." — Goodwin 
on  the  Knowledge  of  God. 


138      The  Experienced  Reality  of  Prayer. 

the  Word,  speaking  unto  God  as  well  as  out  of 
God — is  the  bridge,  the  solution  of  all  problems, 
the  peaceful  light  in  our  darkness  and  exile. 

Praying  in  the  name  of  Christ,  we  pray 
according  to  the  eternal  purpose,  according  to 
the  perfect  will  of  God.  We  pray  in  perfect 
righteousness  and  liberty ;  for  we  are  identified 
with  Him  who  bore  and  took  away  our  sins, 
thereby  glorifying  God,  and  bringing  to  us 
divine  righteousness.  We  pray  in  newness  of 
life  ;  for  in  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  He  became 
the  quickening  Spirit.  We  pray  in  the  bright 
region  of  divine  love,  according  to  the  Saviour's 
intercession,  "that  the  love  wherewith  Thou  hast 
loved  Me  may  be  in  them,  and  I  in  them."^ 

The  Holy  Spirit,  proceeding  from  the  Father 
and  the  Son,  is  the  Spirit  of  prayer.  He  is 
given  unto  us.  He  is  sent  into  our  hearts  by 
the  Feather,  as  the  Spirit  of  His  Son  ;  and  all 
He  teaches  us,  and  works  in  us,  is  summed  up 
in  this,  that  He  cries  in  us,  "Abba,  Father;" 
that  is,  that  by  Him  we  realize,  in  a  clear,  fer- 
vent, and  continuous  manner,  that  we  are  the 
children  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus.  Hence  to 
possess  the  Spirit  is  both  the  power  and  the 
object   of   all   prayer.      The    Father  gives   the 

"•  Compare  my  Lord's  Prayer,  chap.  i. :  "  Prayer  as  revealed 
in  Christ." 


The  Experienced  Reality  of  Prayer.      139 

Spirit  unto  them  that  ask  Him,  because  the 
Spirit  is  the  sum  of  all  good  gifts.  The  pro- 
mise of  the  Father — the  culminatinor  mft  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  glorified — the  highest  of  all  divine 
manifestations,  He  by  whom  the  Father  and 
the  Son  take  up  their  abode  in  us — is  the  Spirit 
of  grace  and  supplication.  If  the  Spirit  dwell 
in  us,  we  pray  without  ceasing  ;  in  our  infirmi- 
ties we  have  an  ever-present  help — the  lamp  is 
continually  renewed  and  cherished  with  the  holy 
oil.  In  our  most  languid  condition,  when  the 
soul  cleaves  to  the  dust.  He  maketh  interces- 
sion for  us,  and  God  knoweth  the  mind  of  the 
Spirit  in  our  sighs  and  groaning.  Conscious  of 
our  ignorance  and  of  our  utter  weakness,  we 
change  our  very  helplessness  into  a  source  of 
comfort ;  for  the  Spirit  of  all  knowledge,  power, 
and  love  is  within  us — our  Paraclete.^ 

*  "  The  prayers  I  make  will  then  be  sweet  indeed, 
If  Thou  the  Spirit  give  by  which  I  pray ; 
My  unassisted  heart  is  barren  clay, 
That  of  its  native  self  can  nothing  feed  ; 
Of  good  and  pious  works  Thou  art  the  seed, 
That  quickens  only  where  Thou  say'st  it  may. 
Unless  Thou  shew  to  us  Thy  own  true  way, 
No  man  can  find  it.     Father  !  Thou  must  lead. 
Do  Thou,  then,  breathe  those  thoughts  into  my  mind, 
By  which  such  virtue  may  in  me  be  bred, 
That  in  Thy  holy  footsteps  I  may  tread ; 
The  fetters  of  my  tongue  do  Thou  unbind, 
That  I  may  have  the  power  to  sing  to  Thee, 
And  sound  Thy  praises  everlastingly."  Wordsworth. 


140      The  Experienced  Reality  of  Prayer. 

Thus  the  self-manifestation  of  God  as  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  contains  throughout  the 
strongest  and  clearest  call  to  prayer ;  and  to 
know  God  as  Father,  to  behold  Him  in  Jesus, 
and  to  experience  the  communion  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  is  impossible  without  bowing  the  knee 
before  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord,  without 
invoking  Christ,  and  learning  to  pray  in  His 
name,  without  the  trustful  and  fervent  prayer 
in  the  Holy  Ghost.  God  lives,  "  God  is  Love," 
we  therefore  pray. 

Let  us  consider  now  the  same  subject  from 
the  human  point  of  view. 

What  is  Christianity  or  religion  ?  "  Chris- 
tianity does  not  leave  us  in  a  state  of  loneliness, 
only  in  communion  with  our  own  hearts  ;  it  is 
dependence  on  God,  dependence  acknowledged, 
believed,  loved,  cherished.  When  this  humility 
lives  in  the  heart,  it  speaks  out  of  the  heart ; 
there  is  question  and  response,  supplication  and 
thanksgiving.  Again,  is  Christianity  confiding 
faith  }  Faith  prays,  seeking  forgiveness  of  Him 
with  whom  it  is.  If  Christianity  implies  virtue, 
benevolence,  meekness,  purity,  faithfulness,  it  im- 
plies the  fight  of  faith,  and  its  ultimate  strength 
is  to  take  hold  of  omnipotence  ;  it  is  prayer."'' 

Christianity  is,  above  all,  love.      If  we  love, 

^  Nitzsch. 


The  Experienced  Reality  of  Prayer.      141 

God  dwelleth  in  us,  and  we  in  Him.  Because 
"God  is  Love,"  He  dispenses  His  gifts  and 
blessings  in  such  a  manner  as  to  draw  us  into 
the  circle  of  love.  In  our  salvation,  Father, 
Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  work  together  in  love 
and  joy.  The  Father  blesses  us  in  the  Son 
of  His  love,  and  rejoices  over  the  sheep  found 
and  saved  by  the  Good  Shepherd.  Jesus 
rejoices  over  us,  as  given  unto  Him  of  the 
Father.  The  Holy  Ghost,  who  reveals  to  us 
the  Father  and  the  Son,  sheds  abroad  in  our 
hearts  divine  love.  And  now  begins  the  prayer 
of  love,  love  speaking  both  for  ourselves  and 
others  ;  for  God  makes  all  believers  workers 
together  with  Him.  They  are  to  be  channels 
of  His  blessing  to  others,  and  the  gifts,  which 
He  purposes  to  bestow,  are  first  to  be  asked 
and  prayed  for  by  our  loving  hearts,  that  so  we 
also  may  rejoice  and  give  thanks  for  the  abun- 
dant grace  bestowed  by  the  God  of  love. 

"  More  things  are  wrought  by  prajer 

Than  this  world  dreams  of. 

For  what  are  men  better  than  sheep  or  goats, 
That  nourish  a  blind  life  within  the  brain, 
If,  knowing  God,  they  lift  not  hands  of  prayer 
Both  for  themselves  and  those  who  call  them  friend  ? 
For  so  the  whole  round  earth  is  every  way 
Bound  by  gold  chains  about  the  feet  of  God." 

Tennyson. 


142      The  ExpeiHenced  Reality  of  Prayer. 

God,  who  cannot  hide  anything  from  the 
children  of  faithful  Abraham,  calling  them  friends, 
reveals  to  them  not  merely  His  counsel,  but, 
giving  them  the  loving  Spirit  of  intercession, 
makes  them  sharers  of  His  love  and  of  His 
joy.^  The  angels  also,  who  rejoice  over  every 
sinner  that  repenteth,  and  who  minister  unto 
the  heirs  of  salvation,  are  associated  with  us  in 
the  golden  circle  of  love,  the  centre  of  which 
is,  and  ever  shall  be,  the  Lamb  of  God,  once 
slain,  and  now  exalted  on  the  throne  to  the 
glory  of  the  Father, 

To  live  before  God,  to  meditate  on  His  words 
and  works,  to  ascribe  glory  to  His  name,  revealed 
unto  us  now  fully,  is  impossible  without  the  tran- 
sition of  this  state  of  realizing  God  into  the  act 
of  prayer.  Meditation  and  adoration  are  the 
necessary  basis  and  element  out  of  Avhich  prayer 
proceeds,  and  into  which  it  returns.  But  they 
are  not  prayer.    In  prayer  the  soul  concentrates 

^  Abraham's  intercession  for  the  cities  of  the  plain  illustrates 
the  spirit  of  truth  and  love  which  characterizes  God's  children. 
Luther  says:  "Six  times  he  intercedes,  with  such  earnestness 
and  heartfelt  yearning,  that  in  his  great  anguish  and  desire  he 
utters  almost  foolish  words.  But  it  is  a  most  precious  prayer,  if 
you  judge  of  it  by  the  attitude  of  his  heart ;  for  it  was  a  very 
violent  emotion  and  profound  importunity.  There  was  more  in 
the  holy  man's  heart  than  that  heart  could  understand  and  feel. 
I  am  sure  tears  ran  down  his  face,  and  his  words  passed  into 
unspeakable  sighs." 


The  Experienced  Reality  of  Prayer.      143 

all  its  energies, and  appears  before  God,  speaking 
to  Him,  and  giving  itself  to  Him  in  humility, 
repentance,  trust,  love,  and  childlike  petitions 
for  grace  and  strength,  and  all  needful  gifts. 
Wishes,  cares,  anxieties  prepare  the  heart  for 
prayer,^  but  are  not  prayer  until  they  are  con- 
verted into  direct  address,  supplication,  and  cry 
unto  God.  Remembering  with  gladness  the 
gracious  invitations  of  God,  who  continually 
encourages  us  in  our  weakness,  and  reopens  the 
sin-disturbed  communion,  this  also  is  not  prayer. 
It  leads  to  prayer  when  we  say  to  God,  When 
Thou  saidst  unto  me.  Seek  ye  my  face,  my 
heart  said  unto  Thee,  Thy  face,  Lord,  I  will 
seek.^ 

In  prayer  we  pass  from  the  general  to  the 
individual,  from  contemplation  to  appropriation 
by  the  will,  from  the  indirect  He  to  the  direct 
Thou.  There  is  nothing  more  solemn,  more 
difficult,~  more  glorious,  than  prayer ;  there  is 
nothing,  blessed  be  God,  so  easy,  so  accessible, 

5  The  promises  are  not  given  to  our  wants,  but  to  our 
petitions.— WnKT'E.hY.  '  Ps.  xxvii.  8. 

-  "  Believe  me,"  said  Coleridge  to  his  nephew,  two  years  before 
his  death,  "to  pray  with  all  your  heart  and  strength,  with  the 
reason  and  the  will,  to  ^believe  vividly  that  God  will  listen  to 
your  voice  through  Christ,  and  verily  do  the  thing  He  pleaseth 
thereupon  —  this  is  the  last,  the  greatest  achievement  of  the 
Christian's  warfare  upon  earth.  Teach  us  to  pray,  Lord." — 
Coleridg^e's  Table-talk. 


144      The  Expe7de7iced  Reality  of  Prayer. 

so  tenderly  and  sweetly  implanted  in  us  by 
divine  grace. 

We  are  accustomed  to  compare  prayer  with 
the  breathing  of  the  quickened  soul  now  trans- 
planted into  the  atmosphere  of  divine  love  and 
life  ;  we  may  also  compare  it  with  eating,  assimi- 
lating divine  truths,  promises,  commands,  so  that 
they  are  appropriated  by  our  hearts  and  wills, 
and  converted  into  our  spiritual  life-strength. 
It  is  in  prayer  that  we  hear  the  word  of  God, 
and  live  by  it. 

It  is  the  experience  of  the  Christian,  that 
through  prayer  he  obtains  light — insight  into 
divine  truths — which  he  could  not  gain  by  any 
other  means.  Natural  power  and  penetration, 
the  letter  of  Scripture  and  human  instruction, 
have  proved  to  be  of  no  avail ;  we  try  to  gain 
or  force  from  without  an  entrance  into  the 
temple  of  truth.  When  we  pray,  God  opens 
from  within,  and  He  gives  unto  us  a  knowledge 
which  is  not  formal  and  abstract,  but  a  vision 
and  appropriation  of  realities.  The  Spirit,  who 
knows  our  need,  reveals  unto  us  such  truth, 
which  we  can  assimilate,  and  which  thus  be- 
comes nourishment  to  our  spiritual  life.  Nor 
does  it  in  the  least  lessen  the  reality  of  this 
divine  answer  to  prayer,  that  the  humble  and 
expectant  attitude  prepares  the  mind,  tranquil- 


The  Experienced  Re.iliiy  of  Prayer.      145 

lizes  the  heart,  and  purifies  the  soul,  and  that 
the  asking  must  be  followed  by  seeking  and 
knocking.  This  Is  doubtless  true.  Prayer  is  in 
harmony  with  all  God's  dealings,  and  with  all  the 
operations  of  the  Spirit ;  but  the  light  Is  sent 
in  answer  to  prayer.  The  apostle  Paul  is  so 
convinced  of  this,  that  he  not  merely  writes 
the  epistles  according  to  the  wisdom  given  unto 
him,  but  he  tells  the  churches  that  he  prays  for 
them,  that  God  may  enlighten  their  minds,  and 
give  them  spiritual  understanding  and  know- 
ledge. And  so  it  is  with  all  spiritual  blessings. 
"  Prayer  brings  all  heaven  before  our  eyes,"  and 
within  our  reach. 

If  we  estimated  rightly  the  relative  magnitude 
of  temporal  and  spiritual  blessings,  the  relative 
difficulty  of  removing  spiritual  maladies  and 
evils,  and  of  delivering  us  from  external  ills,  we 
should  be  more  astonished  at  the  marvels  of 
divine  grace,  manifested  in  the  answer  to  spiri- 
tual petitions.  We  are  astonished  when  we  hear 
of  remarkable  answers  to  prayer,  in  deliverance 
from  sickness,  from  bodily  danger,  from  outward 
distress  and  necessity.  But  how  much  more 
wonderful  are  the  gifts  of  patience,  meekness, 
fortitude,  of  persevering  and  forbearing  love, 
of  cheerfulness  and  diligence,  of  victory  over 
besetting  sins  ;  or  the  secret  and  deep-reachino- 

L 


146      The  Experienced  Reality  of  Prayer. 

influences  of  the  Spirit,  calming  the  heart  in 
anxiety,  subduing  the  power  of  subtle  and  per- 
plexing sin,  upholding  the  soul  with  the  joy  of 
divine  salvation!  If  the  inward  experience  of 
the  saints  were  known,  if  the  journey  through 
the  Spirit-land  could  be  described,  how  many 
marvellous  answers  to  prayer  would  be  seen — 
manna  descending  from  heaven,  rocks  opening 
to  send  forth  streams,  guarding  angels  keeping 
us  from  falling  over  precipices  and  shielding  us 
against  the  fiery  darts  of  the  wicked  one  !  The 
outward  answers  to  prayer  strike  us  more  for 
this,  among  other  reasons,  that  we  are  not  so 
conscious  of  our  absolute  dependence  on  God 
for  every  spiritual  gift  and  deliverance,  as  we 
are  at  times  of  our  absolute  dependence  on  God 
for  providential  help  and  succour.  Only  be 
humble,  and  look  back  on  your  past  life,  and 
you  will  acknowledge  how  God  has  heard  your 
prayer  always  and  abundantly,  else  would  you 
not  be  now  where  you  are,  a  believer  at  the 
throne  of  grace. 

Greater  difficulties  are  felt  with  regard  to 
petitions  for  temporal  blessings,  gifts,  or  deliver- 
ances. 

The  Christian  feels  that  there  is  no  desire, 
plan,  or  enterprise,  no  act  and  no  relationship 
of  life,  in  which  he  is  not  dependent  on  divine 


The  Experie:iccd  Reality  of  Prayer.      147 

guidance,  help,  and  blessing.  He  also  feels 
that  his  relation  of  a  child  involves  the  con- 
fiding and  unreserved  love  which  pours  out 
the  whole  heart  before  God,^  And  if  we  are 
to  give  thanks  in  everything,  and  do  all 
things  to  the  glory  of  God,  how  is  it  possible 
that  any  step  or  duty  or  activity  of  life  should 
be  excluded  from  our  petitions  ?  The  only 
difficulty  is  in  ourselves.  God,  without  w^hose 
will  not  a  sparrow  falls  to  the  ground,  is  willing 
and  able  to  hear  us  in  our  most  minute  petitions, 
to  guide  and  help  us  in  all  things.  The  reason 
we  hesitate  in  offering  such  petitions  is  because 
we  are  not  perfectly  sure  that  what  we  desire 
is  a  real  blessing,  or  that  we  desire  it  from  a 
pure  motive,  or  that  our  desire  is  in  due  relation 
to  the  one  great  aim  of  the  Christian  life.  The 
difficulty  is  not  whether  it  is  right  to  ask  for 
temporal  things,  but  whether  the  things  we  desire 
are  really  good  gifts,  and  whether  in  desiring 
them  our  hearts  are  right  before  God.  We 
often  mistake  a  stone  for  nutritious  bread,  and 
instead  of  a  fish  ask  for  a  serpent,  which  would 
tempt    us    into   evil.      It   is   this   consciousness 

^  "  This  is  the  blessed  privilege  of  speaking  out  our  heart  to 
God.  We  know  from  the  outset  that  we  are  wrong.  We  do  not 
doubt  that  God  will  do  what  is  right ;  yet  we  feel  our  breast 
oppressed.  And  to  whom  else  can  we  go  but  to  our  Lord,  the 
eternal  and  living  God  ? " — Zinzendorf. 


148      The  Experienced  Reality  of  Prayer. 

,  which  often  cramps  the  Christian  in  prayer  for 
earthly  blessings.  The  importance  of  spiritual 
petitions  is  felt  to  be  much  greater,  according 
to  the  command  to  seek  first  the  kingdom  of 
His  righteousness,  coupled  with  the  promise, 
that  all  other  things  shall  be  added  to  us. 

But,  bearing  these  subjective  difficulties  in 
mind,  let  us  not  fall  into  the  error  of  excluding 
from  prayer  what  really  occupies  and  interests 
us  ;  for  do  we  thereby  avoid  or  decrease  the 
danger  of  desiring  wrong  objects,  and  in  a 
wrong  way  ?  Is  not  our  only  safety  to  bring 
our  desires  before  God,  to  place  them  in  the 
lieht  of  His  countenance,  to  sift  them  on  our 
knees,  and  see  whether  we  can  convert  them 
into  petitions  ?  And  what  cannot  be  turned 
into  petition  can  yet  be  brought  before  God, 
that  He  may  correct  and  guide,  that  He  may 
deliver  us  from  self-will  and  fretful  disappoint- 
ment, that  He  may  keep  us  in  perfect  peace. 
Thus  our  conviction  that  God  doeth  all  things 
well,  and  our  feeling,  which  is  often  tempted  to 
doubt,  murmur,  and  repine,  will  be  brought  into 
harmony.  We  notice  this  "  parrhesia,"  speaking 
out  all  and  pouring  out  our  heart,  with  its  fears 
and  hopes,  doubts  and  sorrows,  murmuring  and 
resistine.  in  the  Psalms  of  David  and  in  the 
prophets.     Walking  thus  with  God,  answers  to 


The  Experienced  Reality  of  Prayer.      149 

prayer  in  our  daily  life  will  continually  be  vouch- 
safed to  us ;  nay,  it  may  be  said,  that  the  more 
fully  we  are  brought  into  spiritual  communion 
with  God,  and  the  more  we  enter  into  the  spirit 
of  the  prayer  Christ  gave  us  as  a  model,  seeking 
first  the  divine  and  heavenly  blessings,  the  more 
do  we  obtain  the  continual  guidance  and  help 
we  ask  for  our  daily  and  earthly  life. 

The  Scripture  encouragements  are  very  dis- 
tinct. We  are  not  to  be  over-anxious  about 
anything  ;  but  by  prayer  and  supplication,  with 
thanksgiving,  make  our  requests  known  unto 
God.  And  how  frequent  and  abundant  are 
God's  answers  to  our  petitions  for  guidance  and 
help  in  our  life,  even  in  its  minute  detail  !^  How 
does  God  connect  the  enjoyment  of  His  pre- 
sence, the  assurance  of  His  favour,  and  the 
desire  for  greater  spiritual  blessing,  with  the 
realized  help  from  above  in  the  ordinary  duties 
and  trials  of  our  path !      If  our  affections  are 

■*  Rothe,  in  his  very  valuable  exposition  of  this  subject  (Ethic 
iii.  498),  quotes  the  remarks  of  Reinhard  :  "  It  must  excite  the 
attention  of  every  thoughtful  person,  that  the  belief,  God  hears 
prayer,  is  found  among  all  nations  who  have  a  knowledge  of 
Deity,  and  is  fundamentally  peculiar  to  the  whole  human  race. 
There  must  be  a  greater  number  of  experiences  of  answers  to 
prayer  than  is  generally  supposed,  else  the  belief  in  the  utility 
of  prayer  would  not  be  so  general,  vivid,  and  prevalent."  The 
experiences  of  Francke,  W.  Huntington  {Bank  of  Faith),  and 
George  Miiller,  are  most  instructive  and  CHCOuraging. 


150      The  Experienced  Reality  of  Prayer. 

set  on  things  above,  if  our  petitions  are  not  a 
tempting  of  the  Lord  while  we  disregard  His 
precepts,  if  in  all  our  seeking  we  seek  Him, 
then  let  no  false  spirituality  or  world-wisdom 
keep  us  from  bringing  before  God  all  our 
thoughts  and  desires,  plans  and  purposes,  work 
and  labour,  fears  and  hopes — from  speaking  to 
Him  as  a  child  to  his  father 

Let  nothing  shake  our  confidence.  David 
often  cried  unto  God,  Why  art  Thou  silent  ? 
Yet  unless  he  had  believed  even  then  that  God 
does  hear  and  answer,  he  would  not  have  per- 
severed in  prayer.  The  answer  may  be  delayed 
to  test  our  faith,  to  sift  our  motives,  to  prepare 
us  for  the  right  reception  of  the  answer ;  but 
let  us  never  doubt  that  whatsoever  we  ask  in 
Christ's  name  will  be  granted  unto  us.  And 
this  faith,  nothing  wavering,  is  itself  the  test 
of  the  sincerity  of  our  heart,  and  the  Christ- 
conformed  character  of  our  petitions. 

Prayer  is  not  one  among  many  manifestations 
of  spiritual  life  ;  it  is  not  even  enough  to  say 
that  it  is  the  first  and  most  important.  It  stands 
by  itself,  and  pre-eminent.  It  is  the  mani- 
festation of  our  personal  relation  to  God  ;  it  is 
the  essential  and  immediate  expression  of  our 
filial  relation  in  Christ  to  the  Father.  "  Behold, 
he  prayeth,"  is  the  beginning  of  the  new  life ; 


The  Experienced  Reality  of  Prayer.      1 5 1 

"  Abba,  Father,"  is  the  first  word  of  the  re- 
generate. Here  again  we  behold  the  unity  and 
equahty  of  all  God's  children.  However  weak 
their  faith,  knowledge,  utterance,  they  can  pray, 
they  offer  the  soul's  sincere  desire ;  the  Spirit 
Himself  helpeth  our  infirmities.  "  The  golden 
thread  of  prayer  goes  through  the  life  of  the 
just,  excluding  what  is  evil  and  false,  and 
securing  what  is  pure  and  good." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

GOD     DRAWS     NIGH     IN     CONSOLATION. 

"Draw  nigh  to  God,  a7id  He  %v ill  draw  nigh  to  you." 
James  iv.  8. 

nr^HERE  is  only  one  thing  which  we  can 
-*-  secure  on  earth,  which  we  can  obtain  with 
absolute  certainty  and  keep  with  perfect  security. 
All  other  things  which  we  may  desire  and  seek 
we  can  only  obtain  partially,  and  then  their 
possession  is  most  insecure,  and  at  best  only  for 
a  short  season.  The  only  thing  which  we  can 
most  absolutely  and  certainly  gain  on  earth  is 
heaven.  It  is  the  only  thing,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  highest,  the  best — life  and  blessedness 
everlasting.  There  is  only  one  thing  which 
every  one  that  seeketh  is  sure  to  find.  There 
is  only  one  thing  which,  when  once  found,  can 
never  be  taken  from  us.  It  is  the  love  of  God 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord;  it  is  Jesus 
Himself,  the  Son  of  God,  the  Pearl  of  great 
price. 

As  there  is  only  one  thing  we  can  secure  on 
earth,  it  is  only  on  earth  we  can  secure  this  one 


God  Draws  Nigh  in  Consolation,      153 

thing.  Unless  we  gain  Christ,  our  earthly  life 
is  a  total  and  irreparable  failure.  How  solemn 
and  how  sweet  is  the  gospel-message  !  It  is  the 
offer  of  a  gift,  without  which  we  are  lost.  The 
gift  is  Jesus.  We  can  never  receive  any  gift 
equal  to  or  like  Him  to  all  eternity.  The  most 
marvellous  experience  of  the  love  of  God  is 
here  on  earth,  when  we  believe  in  Jesus.  God 
Himself  draws  nigh  to  us  with  the  assurance 
of  His  eternal  and  immutable  love.  Christ  is 
ours — wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification,  and 
redemption — and  the  sinner,  who  but  a  moment 
before  was  poor  and  sad,  is  able  to  rejoice  in 
unsearchable  riches,  and  to  glory  in  God. 

When  we  have  once  experienced  the  love  of 
God  in  Christ  Jesus,  we  cannot  but  draw  nigh 
continually,  that  God  may  draw  nigh  to  us. 
Having  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious,  we 
desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the  Word,  that  we 
may  grow  thereby.  We  know  now  that  our 
Father  in  heaven  has  07ily  good  gifts  to  give 
to  His  children.  We  are  not  afraid  of  the  word 
of  God,  although  it  is  sharper  than  a  two-edged 
sword.  Our  God  is  a  consuming  fire,  and  yet 
we  draw  nigh  with  the  confiding  and  joyous 
expectation  of  abundant  and  peaceful  blessings. 
"  I  will  hear,"  saith  the  believer,  "  what  God  the 
Lord  will  say  :  for  He  will  speak  peace  to  His 


154      God  Draws  Nigh  in  Consolation. 

people,  and  to  His  saints."  How  blessed  the 
assurance,  that  whatever  God  says.  He  speaks 
peace  !  In  all  His  rebukes  and  chastenings,  the 
thoughts  of  His  heart  concerning  us  are  peace. 
Scripture  is  nothing  else  but  consolation,^  be- 
ginning with  the  poor  in  spirit  and  the  contrite 
mourners,  and  accompanying  us  to  the  very  end 
of  our  earthly  pilgrimage. 

God  comforts,  comforts  His  people,  and  speaks 
to  the  heart  of  Jerusalem.^  To  the  soul,  turn- 
ing away  from  sin  and  earth,  He  has  only  con- 
solation ;  in  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death 
His  staff  and  His  rod  comfort  us,  and  beyond 
the  grave  we  behold  Lazarus  is  comforted,  and 
God  Himself  wipes  away  all  tears  from  the  eyes 
of  His  children. 

The  consolations  of  God,  sweet  and  lovely 
as  they  are  to  the  new  man,  are  bitter  and 
piercing  to  the  old  Adam  nature.  Jesus  is 
the  consolation  of  Israel,  and  Jesus  is  a  Saviour 
from  sin.  Jesus  is  not  of  this  world ;  Jesus  was 
crucified  that  sin  miofht  be  condemned  in  the 

o 

'  "  Christianity  does  not  bring  consolation  only  in  part  or  at 
the  end,  but  it  is  consolation-doctrine  from  the  beginning  and 
throughout  to  the  end  ;  altogether  it  is  organized  consolation. 
Jesus  begins  with  pronouncing  the  poor  and  mourners  blessed. 
He  is  regarded  by  prophets  and  apostles  as  the  day-spring  of 
mercy." — NiTZSCH,  Seelenpflege,  p.  173. 

^  Isa.  xi.  2,  orig. 


God  Draws  Nigh  in  Consolation.       155 

flesh.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  the  Comforter,  and, 
as  the  very  name  indicates,  the  Spirit,  who  in 
His  infinite  love  condescends  to  dwell  in  our 
hearts,  in  whom  the  Father  and  the  Son  draw 
nigh,  even  so  nigh  as  to  take  up  their  abode 
within  us,  is  holy,  separating  us  from  all  sin 
and  worldliness.  Are  we  willing  to  be  com- 
forted by  God,  in  Jesus,  through  the  Holy 
Ghost  ?  Have  we  courage,  let  me  rather  say 
faith,  to  be  filled  with  divine  light  and  love  ? 
Have  we  resolved  to  give  up  all  things,  nay, 
to  hate  our  own  lives,  that  God  may  draw  nigh 
to  us  ?  Then  let  not  our  hearts  be  troubled  ; 
the  Lord,  whose  love  is  infinite  in  majesty, 
wisdom,  power,  and  tenderness,  saith,  "  I,  even 
I,  am  He  that  comforteth  you."^ 

We  need  consolation  throuofhout  our  whole 
course.  This  may  seem  strange  at  first.  As 
without  Christ  there  is  not  a  single  gleam  of 
light  to  break  our  darkness,  so  with  Christ 
there  ought  not  to  be  a  single  cloud  on  our 

3  "  There  is  no  truth,  however  warning,  threatening,  yea,  even 
terrifying,  its  aspect,  which  does  not  bring  us  nearer  con- 
solation, though  apparently  removing  it  from  us.  How  faithful 
and  truthful  is  the  truth,  which  aims  at  our  liberty  and  blessed- 
ness, that  it  takes  from  us  step  by  step  all  false  consolation,  and 
in  such  a  manner,  that  though  at  first  we  do  not  feel  thankful, 
yet  at  last  we  must  offer  praise  and  adoration  for  this  very 
discipline." — NiTZSCH,  Seelenpfiege,  p.  175. 


156      God  Draws  Nigh  171  Consolation. 

horizon,  no  doubt  or  fear  to  interrupt  the  peace 
which  His  precious  blood  has  purchased  for  us. 
Under  the  law  there  was  nothing  but  condem- 
nation ;  under  the  gospel  there  is  nothing  but 
the  all-sufficient  Saviour-grace  of  God.  Yet 
what  is  our  experience  ? 

The  soul  asks,  Why  have  I  such  a  constant 
and  painful  remembrance  of  past,  of  forgiven 
sin  ?  It  is  true  that  all  prophets  and  apostles 
testify  of  Jesus,  that  in  Him  is  forgiveness  of 
sins  to  every  one  that  believeth.  Even  to  the 
little  children  the  beloved  apostle  writes,  because 
their  sins  are  forgiven  for  His  name's  sake.  In 
all  the  Pauline  epistles  the  believer  is  assured 
that  in  Christ  we  have,  we  possess,  redemption, 
even  the  forgiveness  of  sins  ;  that  this  is  the 
fundamental  blessing  of  the  new  covenant ;  that 
God  hath  forgiven  our  iniquities,  and  will  re- 
member our  sins  no  more.  God  has  assured 
us  that  He  has  blotted  out  our  sins  as  a  thick 
cloud,  that  He  has  removed  them  from  us  as 
far  as  the  east  is  from  the  west,  that  He  has 
buried  them  in  the  depths  of  the  sea,  and  that 
this  perfect  and  absolute  forgiveness  is  that  in 
which  He  delights,  and  wherein  He  manifests 
to  all  angels  and  ages  His  glory.  And  yet  we 
cannot  forget  our  past  sins,  and  we  feel  the 
need  to  be  constantly  reassured  by  the  voice 


God  Draws  Nigh  in  Co?isolaiio7i.       157 

saying,  "  Take,  eat ;  this  is  my  body,  broken 
for  you  :  this  is  my  blood,  shed  for  the  remission 
of  sin,"     Why  is  this  ? 

When  we  first  returned  to  God  we  had  very 
shallow  and  limited  views  of  the  nature  of  sin, 
of  the  depth  of  the  fall,  of  the  hidden  alienation 
of  the  carnal  mind  from  God.  Our  heavenly 
Father,  in  His  loving-kindness  and  tenderness, 
allowed  us  then  to  experience  chiefly  the  sweet- 
ness of  His  mercy.  We  rejoiced  in  the  bright 
robe,  in  the  ring  of  adoption,  in  the  shoes  of 
the  new  obedience,  in  the  joy  of  the  Good 
Shepherd,  who  had  found  His  lost  sheep.  God 
blessed  us,  and  assured  us  of  His  never-changing 
love.  But  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  learn 
more  of  sin,  in  order  that  we  may  continue  to 
rest  exclusively  on  Christ.  If  the  atoning  blood 
of  Jesus  is  to  remain  our  only  trust,  if  the 
indwelling  of  Christ  by  the  Spirit  is  to  be  our 
only  strength,  it  is  necessary  that  we  should 
know  and  remember  our  sins,  that  we  should 
feel  them  painfully,  and  be  ashamed  before  God. 
It  is  after  the  brethren  of  Joseph  are  pardoned, 
it  is  after  Israel  has  experienced  the  marvellous 
love  of  God,  that  the  sense  of  sin,  the  over- 
whelming and  crushing  sense  of  sin,  is  felt. 
"  Thou  son  of  man,"  said  God  to  the  prophet 
Ezekiel,  "  shew  the  house  to  the  house  of  Israel, 


158      God  Draws  Nigh  in  Consolation. 

that  they  may  be  ashamed  of  their  iniquities."^ 
The  completeness  and  glory  of  the  temple  call 
forth  the  deepest  repentance. 

Let  no  man  think  the  believer's  sighs  the 
language  of  unbelief,  or  his  tears  the  expression 
of  unconsoled  sorrow.  Let  no  presumptuous 
hand  remove  the  bitter  herbs  from  the  paschal 
feast.  It  is  a  orreat  forgfiveness  which  God 
bestows,  which  Jesus  purchased,  which  the 
Spirit  seals,  and  we  fed  it  to  be  great.  And 
as  we  feel  God's  forgiveness  orreat,  so  we 
cannot  forget  that  all  our  sins,  though  forgiven, 
are  still  within  us.  They  are  blotted  out,  they 
are  judged,  they  are  crucified  ;  we  hate  them, 
we  fight  against  them ;  but  there  they  are,  within 
us,  ours.  Our  whole  old  man,  with  all  its  mem- 
bers, is  still  in  existence.  Grace  has  not  anni- 
hilated him,  although  grace  enables  us  to 
crucify  him,  to  mortify  the  members  which  are 
on  earth.  How  can  we  help  remembering  what 
we  were,  and  what  we  did,  when  sin,  although 
no  longer  reigning  within  us,  is  still  present 
with  us,  when  the  flesh  still,  daily  and  always, 
is  in  mortal  enmity  against  the  Spirit.  Poor 
believer  !  wretched  man  !  chief  of  sinners  !  God 
will  comfort  thee.      How  often  dost  thou  cry — 

3  Ezek.  xxxvi.  31  ;   xliii.  10. 


God  Draivs  Nigh  in  Consolation.      159 

"  Say  this  word  of  love  again, 
Christ  receiveth  sinful  men  ! " 

How  often  does  thy  soul  respond — - 

"  Chief  of  sinners  though  I  be, 
Christ  is  all  in  all  to  me  ! " 

Believe  and  rejoice  in  the  Lord.  "  Worthy  is 
the  Lamb."  Say  not  merely,  "I  am  black;" 
but  behold  the  beauty  of  the  Lord. 

"Your  many  sins  are  all  forgiven  ; 
Oh,  hear  the  voice  of  Jesus  ! 
Go  on  your  way  in  peace  to  heaven, 
And  wear  a  crown  with  Jesus." 

The  soul  mourns  over  her  many  sins,  and  the 
fewness  of  her  good  works.  She  thinks  grace 
hath  won  but  scanty  triumphs ;  she  wonders 
why  sin  is  not  extirpated ;  she  is  disappointed 
that  the  heavenly  Gardener  does  not  remove 
the  bitter  root  of  sins ;  she  has  sometimes 
imagined  for  days  and  weeks  that  He  had  done 
so.  A  subtle  and  sweet  calm,  an  unwonted 
energy  as  of  the  Spirit,  a  Sabbatic  freedom  from 
the  attacks  of  old  sins  and  habits,  seemed  to 
descend  into  the  soul ;  she  felt  herself  pure, 
beautified,  no  longer  in  the  wilderness,  always 
victorious.  Alas  !  it  was  Satan  appearing  as  an 
angel  of  light.  Jesus  Christ,  the  crucified,  the 
Physician  of  the  sick,  the  Healer  of  the  broken- 


i6o      God  Di'aws  Nigh  in  Consolation. 

hearted,  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  is  not  the  centre 
and  root  of  this  experience.  This  sweetness 
and  honey  come  not  from  the  cleft  Rock. 

God's  thoughts  are  not  our  thoughts ;  His 
ways  are  not  our  ways.  We  discover  this  con- 
tinually. Not  merely  when  we  are  first  brought 
to  a  knowledge  of  salvation,  and  see  with  re- 
joicing surprise  the  marvellous  method  of  free 
grace,  but  ever  afterwards  we  learn  that  the 
ways  of  God  are  different  from  our  wisdom  and 
the  expectation  of  our  hearts.  How  natural  is 
the  thought  and  desire  of  the  soul  that  has 
begun  to  love  Christ,  that  its  progress  may 
now  be  continuous  and  rapid  !  How  natural 
even  the  conception,  that  in  some  moment  of 
faith  and  ardent  soul-surrender,  there  will  be 
given  from  above  a  complete  and  final  victory 
over  the  love  of  sin  and  the  world !  Yet  how 
different  is  the  experience  of  the  Christian  !  Is 
it  not  true  of  all,  what  an  old  saint  describes 
as  his  history  ? — ■ 

"  I  ask'd  the  Lord  that  I  might  grow 
In  faith  and  love,  and  ev'ry  grace  ; 
Might  more  of  His  salvation  know, 
And  seek  more  earnestly  His  face. 

"'Twas  He  who  taught  me  thus  to  pray. 
And  He,  I  trust,  has  answer'd  prayer ; 
But  it  has  been  in  such  a  way, 
As  almost  drove  me  to  despair. 


God  Draws  Nizk  in  Consolation.      i6i 

"  I  hoped  that  in  some  favour'd  hour 
At  once  He'd  answer  my  request, 
And  by  His  love's  constraining  power 
Subdue  my  sins,  and  give  me  rest. 

*'  Instead  of  this,  He  made  me  feel 
The  hidden  evils  of  my  heart  ; 
And  let  the  angr)'  powers  of  hell 
Assault  my  soul  in  every  part. 

"  Yea,  more  ;  with  His  own  hand  he  seem'd 
Intent  to  aggravate  my  woe  ; 
Cross'd  all  the  fair  designs  I  schem'd, 
Blasted  my  gourds,  and  laid  me  low. 

"'  Lord,  why  is  this  ? '  I  trembling  cried  ; 

'Wilt  Thou  pursue  thy  worm  to  death?' 
"Tis  in  this  way,'  the  Lord  replied, 

'  I  answer  prayer  for  grace  and  faith. 

"'  These  inward  trials  I  employ. 

From  self  and  pride  to  set  thee  free  ; 
And  break  thy  schemes  of  earthly  joy. 
That  thou  mayst  seek  thy  all  in  Me.'" 

The  heavenly  wisdom  speaks  to  us  in  this 
wise  :  God  has  commanded  us  to  fight  the  good 
fi^ht  of  faith  as  lonof  as  we  are  on  earth  ;  the 
city  of  palm  trees  is  beyond  ;  vision  and  strife- 
less  joy  await  us  in  the  heavenly  Jerusalem. 
Our  rest  is  in  God  even  now  ;  but  it  is  not  the 
rest  of  glory.  The  old  man  is  not  annihilated 
in  us,  else  were  there  no  conflict.  Do  we  wish 
to  be  pure  and  faultless,  in  order  to  give  the 
glory  to  God  ?  If  suddenly  our  sin  was  re- 
moved, would  we  ascribe  it  to  God,  and  to  God 

M 


1 62      God  Draws  Nigh  in  Consolation. 

alone  ?  And  though  we  should  say  so  with  our 
lips,  would  not  our  secret  thoughts  be,  My  idol 
hath  done  this  ?  would  not  the  enemy  whisper 
it  to  our  heart  ?  Have  we  not  often  experienced 
how  a  smooth  and  outwardly  faultless  and  peace- 
ful course  only  concealed  a  disease  more  dan- 
gerous and  more  loathsome — the  sin  of  hard, 
self-contained  and  self-satisfied  Pharisaism,  which 
needs  no  Saviour,  and  has  no  tears  of  joy,  grati- 
tude, and  shame  to  shed  ?  ^  We  cannot  be  too 
earnest,  diligent,  and  watchful ;  we  cannot  have 
too  high  an  aim,  and  too  hopeful  a  trust  in  the 
strength  of  Jesus. 

It  is   an   essential   feature  in  the   Christian, 
that  he  lonofs  after  holiness.     Sanctification  is 

■*  The  following  extract  is  from  the  diary  of  Philip  M.  Hahn 
(Feb.  8th,  1786)  :  "  During  my  private  prayer  I  remembered  my 
impatient  speech  to-day,  and  this  brought  before  me  my  sins  in 
so  clear  a  light,  and  with  a  deep  feeling  of  sorrow  and  abhor- 
rence. It  showed  me  so  clearly  the  necessity  of  an  atonement, 
and  the  greatness  of  God's  mercy,  and  that  we  live  entirely  by 
the  grace  of  God,  and  are  unworthy.  I  thought  within  myself, 
How  necessary  are  our  failures  !  For  I  know  from  experience 
that  when  some  considerable  time  has  passed  without  open 
failure,  I  become  proud,  unmerciful,  self-complacent,  censorious. 
One  does  not  recognize  God's  mercy  and  compassion,  and  that 
God  delights  only  in  a  childlike,  humble  heart.  But  this  is  by 
no  means  to  encourage  us  in  carelessness.  It  is  to  my  shame 
that  I  have  not  the  mind  of  Christ,"  &c.  This  remark,  rightly 
understood,  does  not  contradict  the  frequently-expressed  exhor- 
tation of  Scripture  :  "  These  things  write  we  unto  you,  that  ye 
sin  not." 


God  Draws  Nio-Ji  in  Consolation.      163 

inseparably  connected  with  justification,  not  only 
as  its  companion,  but  its  end.  "If  we  compare 
them  in  point  of  time,  if  we  look  backward,  holi- 
ness was  always  necessary  unto  happiness  ;  or  if 
we  look  forward,  the  estate  we  are  appointed  to, 
and  for  which  we  are  delivered  from  wrath,  is 
an  estate  of  perfect  holiness."^  If  we  look  to 
the  eternal  election  of  the  Father,  if  we  reflect 
upon  the  great  work  of  redemption,  if  we  by 
faith  realize  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise,  and 
behold  the  new  Jerusalem,  into  which  nothing 
shall  enter  that  is  defiled,  everywhere  we  see 
holiness  as  the  great  object  of  the  divine  pur- 
pose and  the  divine  acts  of  grace.  Again,  every 
privilege  of  the  Christian  points  to  this  great 
end.  Are  we  the  children  of  God  ?  Then  the 
command  follows  naturally:  "  Be  ye  holy;  for  I 
am  holy."  "  Be  ye  therefore  perfect,  even  as  your 
Father  which  is  in  heaven  is  perfect."  "  Be  ye 
followers  (imitators)  of  God,  as  dear  children." 
Are  we  the  disciples  of  Christ  ?  Then  it  is  ours 
to  learn  of  Him,  who  was  meek  and  lowly  in 
heart.  Are  we  His  friends  ?  Then  it  is  for  us 
to  do  whatsoever  He  commands  us.  Are  we 
members  of  the  Church,  of  the  body  of  which 
the  Son  of  God  is  Head  '^.  Then  is  it  for  us  to 
walk  worthy  of  the  vocation  wherewith  we  are 

s  Archbishop  Leighton. 


164      God  Draws  Nigh  in  Consolation. 

called,  and  to  remember  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
Himself  dwelleth  in  us. 

As  the  desire  after  holiness*^  is  an  essential 
feature  in  the  Christian  character,  and  constant 
sorrow  and  conflict  on  account  of  sin  —  our 
worst,  and  in  one  sense  our  only,  enemy^ — -the 
mark  of  every  true  believer,  so  the  desire  after 
a  state  of  perfection  and  completeness  is  also 
well  founded  ;  only  that  here  misconceptions 
easily  creep  in,  especially  if  they  flatter  our 
self-complacency,  and  give  room  to  glory  in 
ourselves.  We  are  complete  in  Christ.  We 
receive  in  Jesus,  once  and  for  ever,  all  things 
pertaining  to  life  and  godliness.  We  are  by 
faith  one  with  Him,  whom  God  has  made  for 
us  wisdom  and  righteousness,  sanctification  and 
redemption.  Jesus,  the  ascended  Lord,  is  our 
perfection.  As  our  righteousness  is  in  heaven, 
as  the  name  both  of  the  Lord  and  of  Jerusalem 
is  Jehovah-Tsidkenu,  so  is  our  perfection  Christ 
at  the  right  hand  of  God.  And  our  hope  is, 
that  we  shall  be  like   Him;   that  when  Jesus 

^  Dr.  Duncan  somewhere  expresses  doubt  as  to  whether  there 
is  in  the  present  day  as  much  real  anxiety  and  honest  striving 
after  assurance  of  faith,  as  interest  in  the  discussion  of  the 
subject.  Let  us  hope  there  is  much  real  and  sincere  heart- 
longing  for  holiness,  and  for  a  close  walk  with  God.  The  Scrip- 
tures contain  simple  and  ample  directions  to  all  who  wish  to 
abide  in  Christ  and  bring  forth  fruit. 


God  Draws  Nigh  in  Consolation.       165 

comes  again  we  shall  be,  in  body,  soul,  and 
spirit,  conformed  to  the  image  of  God's  Son, 
according  to  the  working  whereby  He  is  able 
to  subdue  all  things  unto  Himself. 

The  Christian  is  at  peace ;  he  possesses  in 
the  present  all  he  needs  ;  he  does  not  look  for- 
ward to  a  gradual  and  slow  progress,  and  to 
an  indefinite  goal,  but  to  a  constantly-renewed 
apprehension  and  enjoyment  of  what,  by  God's 
grace  and  through  faith,  has  been  given  unto 
him  in  Christ  Jesus. 

There  are  three  subjects  of  which  the  Chris- 
tian has  an  experimental  and  real  knowledge  l 
sin,  grace,  and  the  new  life  and  walk  ia  Christ.. 

I.  He  has  knowledge  of  sin,  partly  by  self- 
observation  and  experience,  but  chiefly  through 
faith  in  the  testimony  of  God.  Examining 
his  thoughts,  feelings,  words,  and  actions,  he 
cannot  fail  to  discover  pride,  self-seeking,  cove- 
tousness,  and  other  evils  within  his  heart. 
Sometimes  sins,  which  he  fancied  he  detested, 
will,  to  his  great  shame  and  terror,  appear  in 
his  own  heart ;  and  evils,  which  he  thought  he 
had  conquered  and  laid  aside,  are  felt  to  have 
only  slumbered  to  assert  themselves  with  new 
and  greater  power. 

But  however  humiliating  such  discoveries 
are,   it  is   not   in   this  way  that  we  arrive  at 


1 66      God  Draws  Nizh  in  Consolatioii. 

a  true  knowledge  and  conviction  of  sin  ;  it  is 
by  believing  what  God  says  of  us  in  His  word. 
If  we  measure  our  sinfulness  by  our  own  dis- 
covery and  experience  of  it,  we  may  indeed  be 
deeply  abased,  but  we  do  not  see  our  condition 
in  the  true  lisfht.  When  we  bow  to  the  de- 
claration  of  God's  word — when  we  accept  the 
testimony  of  Scripture,  the  estimate  of  divine 
justice,  holiness,  and  truth — when  we  receive 
the  judgment  of  Him,  who  searcheth  and  trieth 
the  heart,  then  it  is  that  we  see  and  know  our- 
selves to  be  sinners.  Once  we  have  accepted 
the  divine  testimony  concerning  sin,  we  retain 
this  conviction  of  our  sinfulness,  even  while 
we  have  the  most  comforting  and  encouraging 
experiences  of  divine  favour.  We  know  that 
Christ  Jesus  saved  sinners,  we  also  know  "of 
whom  I  am  chief." 

The  Scripture  portraiture  and  anatomy  of 
the  human  heart  (as  for  instance  Rom.  iii. 
lO-iS)  may  appear  at  first  sight  to  be  not 
merely  appalling,  but  inapplicable  in  its  full 
extent  to  our  own  case.  If  we  measure  it  by 
our  own  feeling  and  experience,  we  may  find  it 
difficult  to  submit  ourselves  to  the  divine  judg- 
ment, and  to  acknowledge  its  justice  ;  but  if  we 
accept  it  in  faith,  if  we  remember  that  it  is  the 
sentence  of  God,  of  the  Omniscient  One,  whose 


God  Draws  Nigh  in  Consolation.      167 

eyes  are  as  a  flame  of  fire,  and  whose  word  is 
perfect,  we  shall  then,  also  in  our  experience 
and  feeling,  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth  of  the  Scripture  declaration  of  our  sinful- 
ness. We  shall  then  attribute  to  prevenient 
and  restraining  grace  our  comparative  freedom 
from  some  of  the  manifestations  of  sin ;  we 
shall  learn  "that  what  is  born  of  the  flesh  is 
flesh."  Though  we  have  not  always  the  con- 
scious feeling  of  our  guilt  and  sin,  yet,  if  we 
believe  God's  word,  we  always  know  ourselves 
to  be  sinners,  and  therefore  are  able  always  to 
rejoice  in  Jesus,  who  "  receiveth  sinners,  and 
eateth  with  them." 

2.  In  like  manner  our  knowledge  of  Jesus,  or 
of  grace,  is  not  according  to  our  feeling,  but 
according  to  the  testimony  which  God  has  given 
of  His  Son.  When  we  come  to  Jesus,  we  re- 
ceive Him  at  once,  as  He  is,  in  all  His  fulness, 
as  God  hath  made  Him  for  us  ;"  we  receive  the 
whole  Christ.  The  moment  we  are  enabled  to 
give  our  heart  unto  Jesus,  we  possess  all;  we  are 
blessed  with  all  spiritual  blessings  in  heavenly 
places  in  Him.  The  believer  is  gradually  grow- 
ing in  the  knowledge  and  enjoyment  of  the 
blessings  he  has  received ;  but  the  possession 
of  them   is  not  a  gradual   acquisition,  but  an 

7  I  Cor.  i.  30. 


1 68      God  Draws  Ni^h  i^t  Consolation. 

immediate  and  perfect  reception.  The  word  of 
God  declares  that,  beheving  in  Jesus,  I  have 
eternal  life.  This  is  far  beyond  my  conception, 
experience,  and  feehng ;  yet  I  beheve  and  re- 
joice in  this  wonderful  gift  of  life  eternal.  The 
peace  of  the  Christian  is  perfect,  because  he 
possesses  a  perfect  Christ. 

3,  And  in  like  manner  we  have  perfection 
and  completeness  in  the  spirit  and  character 
of  our  walk.  The  Christian's  new  life  is  not  a 
gradual  reception  of  isolated  precepts  and  com- 
mandments, an  isolated  and  mechanical  exercise 
of  individual  virtues  and  self-denials,  but  the 
putting  on  of  the  new  man  ;  so  that  the  mind 
which  was  in  Christ  Jesus  is  in  us.  By  the  death 
of  Christ  we  have  been  crucified  unto  sin  and 
the  world.  Sin  in  its  totality  has  been  condemned 
in  the  flesh.  We,  who  believe  on  Jesus,  have 
died  unto  sin  with  and  in  Him.  Our  whole  life 
has  sprung  out  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ. 
The  one  motive  of  our  actions  is,  "We  live  not 
unto  ourselves,  but  unto  Him,  who  loved  us, 
and  gave  Himself  for  us."  The  more  we  re- 
member this  completeness  and  unity  of  the 
"  mind  of  Christ,"  into  which  we  have  entered 
by  faith  in  the  death  and  resurrection  of  our 
Lord,  the  more  shall  we  be  prepared  and  strength- 
ened to  overcome  every  temptation,   to  fulfil 


God  Draws  Nigh  in  Consolation.      169 

every  duty,  to  solve  every  doubtful  case,  as  it 
arises.  The  Christian's  life  and  obedience  is 
thus  something  complete,  an  organic  whole.^ 

To  sum  up  :  if  we  are  God's  children,  our 
experience  will  be,  I  must  decrease,  Christ  must 
increase.  Yet  we  grow.  We  are  humbled,  and 
yet  we  rise.  God  comforts  us,  that  He  will 
perform  the  work  which  He  has  begun  in  our 
souls,  that  He  will  perfect  that  which  concerneth 
us,  that  we  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles. 
And  God's  consolations  give  us  perfect  peace 
while  we  remain  a  poor  afflicted  people. 

"  Lowly,  my  eyes,  be  lowly  ! 

God  from  His  throne  above 
Looks  down  upon  the  humble 

In  kindness  and  in  love. 
Still  as  I  rise  I  shall 

Have  greater  depths  below  me, 
And  haughty  works  must  fall  : 

Therefore,  my  eyes,  be  lowly." 

^  Condensed  from  Steinhofer,  who  adds  :  r 

1.  "If  we  are  frequently  attacked  by  the  same  sin,  and  fight 
against  it,  by  itself,  without  going  to  the  root  of  our  being 
Christ's,  and  of  our  possessing  the  mind  of  Christ  constantly 
indwelling,  we  are  worsted,  and  become  faint  and  without  power. 

2.  "A  believer  has  sinned,  he  perceives  the  defect,  and  he 
wishes  to  remedy  the  matter  by  feeling  anxious,  and  by  humble 
and  sorrowful  supplication  for  mercy  (which  is  certainly  right) ; 
but  he  fails  to  take  his  refuge  in  the  strong  tower  of  the  Atone- 
ment. He  does  not  remember  that  his  sins  are  forgiven  him  ; 
then  he  shall  experience  that  '  the  law  is  the  strength  of  sin.' '' 
He  has  returned  to  the  stand-point  of  law,  in  which  there  is 
neither  peace  nor  power. 


1 70      God  Draws  Nigh  i?i  Consolation. 

Out  of  the  depths  we  look  to  our  true  joy. 
As  the  children  sing — 

"  Oh,  how  happy  we  shall  be  ; 
For  our  Saviour  we  shall  see 
Exalted  on  His  throne  !     Oh,  that  will  be  joyful !  " 

We  have  a  foretaste  of  this  heavenly  joy  when 
it  pleases  God  to  give  us  a  deep  sense  of  our 
sin  and  unworthiness.  To  think  of  our  sin  and 
nothingness  leads  to  humility.  The  true  humility 
is  to  think  with  joy  of  Christ,  and  to  magnify 
our  God  and  Saviour.  In  the  sweet  valley  of 
humiliation  we  behold  Jesus  exalted  on  His 
throne.  Then  the  happy  land,  far,  far  away, 
seems  very  nigh  ;  for  we  see  the  King  in  His 
beauty;  our  eyes  behold  the  land  that  is  far  off. 
When  we  can  truly  say,  "  Christ  is  all,"  then 
God  enables  us  to  add,  "  And  Christ  is  mine." 
When  we  have  no  righteousness  of  our  own — ■ 
when  we  can  find  nothing  within  ourselves 
wherein  to  trust  and  rejoice — when,  more  deeply 
and  painfully  than  at  our  conversion,  we  feel 
our  exceeding  sinfulness  and  helplessness — then 
God  comforts  us  with  His  abundant  mercy  ;  we 
behold  the  amazing,  infinite,  and  immutable  love 
of  God ;  we  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and 
full  of  glory.  Jesus  Himself  is  our  Righteous- 
ness, our  Beauty.  We  sing  the  new  song.  God 
Himself  is  our  Light  and  our  Salvation. 


God  Drazus  Nigh  m  Consolation.       i  7 1 

The  fulness  and  sweetness  of  divine  love  can 
be  seen  and  felt  by  the  soul,  only  when  emptied 
and  abased.  There  are  only  two  heavens — one 
above  in  glory,  the  other  below  in  the  broken 
heart.  When  it  is  perfectly  still  within,  when 
every  voice  of  self-commendation  or  excuse  is 
hushed,  then  is  heard  the  voice  of  the  Lord, 
full  of  majesty  and  consolation.  God  reveals 
His  presence,  God  manifests  His  love,  and  we 
adore. 

See,  the  frail  bark  is  far  away  from  the  shore 
of  time  and  sense ;  no  longer  are  the  hills  of 
this  earth  within  view  ;  the  last  thin  line  of  the 
coast  has  disappeared  from  the  vision  ;  the  soul 
is  alone  with  God.  The  ocean  is  infinite,  and 
it  is  love.  He  loved  us  ere  the  foundations  of 
the  world  were  laid.  We  look  no  more  for 
works  of  rio^hteousness  which  we  have  done. 
Chosen  in  Christ,  redeemed  with  His  most 
precious  blood,  we  know  ourselves  loved  with 
a  love  which  is  its  own  source,  which  ever  sus- 
tains and  renews  itself,  and  which  brings  us  all 
that  pertains  to  life  and  godliness. 

Here  is  the  true  Sabbath  of  the  soul.  Ceasing 
from  our  works,  from  all  spiritual  labour  and 
anxiety,  we  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus  with  the 
simplicity  of  little  children.  As  in  our  earthly 
life,  when  we  are  far  from  the  noise  and  dust  of 


172      God  Draws  Nigh  in  Consolatioji. 

crowded  streets,  in  some  distant  lonely  spot,  the 
deep,  still,  virgin  silence  makes  us  forget  the 
burden  of  our  daily  routine,  and  there  returns 
to  us  the  freshness  and  fragrance  of  our  child- 
hood, so  is  it  sometimes  given  to  the  Christian 
to  return  to  his  first  love,  and  to  the  first  Christ- 
absorbed  adoring  joy. 

We  are  then  in  the  Spirit.  Is  it  above?  As 
Moses  was  on  the  mount,  high  above  the  people, 
above  the  darkness  of  Sinai  and  the  clouds  of 
earth,  and  beheld  the  blue  of  heaven  at  the  feet 
of  the  God  of  Israel,  so  is  the  soul  lifted  above 
the  crowd  of  thoughts,  accusing  and  excusing 
one  another,  and  the  works  of  the  law,  and  the 
earthly  imperfect  willing  and  doing,  and  beholds 
the  covenant  faithfulness  of  everlasting  love. 
Or  is  it  within  ?  Eyes  and  ears  are  closed  ; 
reason,  fancy,  and  all  energies  of  the  soul  rest 
in  quiet  expectation.  The  heavenly  Friend  has 
gently  opened  the  door,  and  in  the  heart  is 
heard  His  salutation  :  "  Peace  be  with  thee. 
Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people,  saith  your 
God.  Speak  to  the  heart  of  Jerusalem,  and 
say  unto  her  that  her  warfare  is  accomplished, 
that  her  iniquity  is  pardoned,  that  she  hath 
received  of  the  Lord's  hand  a  Benjamin-portion 
for  all  her  sins." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

IF    GOD    BE    FOR    US. 

"  Draw  nigh  to  God,  attd  He  will  draw  nigh  to  you." 
James  iv.  8. 

'HPHERE  is  no  exhortation  more  solemn  and 
^  profound,  more  fundamental,  reaching"  into 
the  very  beginnings  of  spiritual  life,  and  more 
comprehensive,  embracing  the  deepest  expe- 
rience of  divine  grace,  than  these  words :  "  Draw 
nigh  to  God,  and  He  will  draw  nigh  to  you." 
No  frequency  of  repetition  can  weaken  their 
force  or  exhaust  their  meaning ;  but  they  grow 
in  power  and  sweetness  as  we  obey  the  com- 
mand, "  Draw  nigh  to  God,"  and  test  the  truth 
of  the  promise,  "And  He  will  draw  nigh  to 
you." 

You  who  are  still  far  from  Him,  do  you  not 
know  that  He  is  ?  and  knowing  that  He  is,  can 
you  resist  the  magnet  of  almighty  love,  mani- 
fested in  human  sorrow,  in  Jesus  lifted  up  to  the 
cross  ?  You  hear  the  word  of  God  ;  but  do  you 
not  know  that  the  word  of  God  lives  because 


God  lives  ?  You  hear  the  invitations  of  divine 
grace  ;  but  do  you  not  reahze  that  God  sends 
them  forth,  and  that  this  moment  there  are  the 
outstretched  arms  of  Fatherly  love  ready  to 
receive  you  ?  You  hear  the  ambassadors  of 
Christ ;  but  have  you  never  looked  through 
them  unto  the  heavenly  throne,  where  Christ 
lives,  exalted  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour,  to  give 
repentance  and  remission  of  sins  ?  "  Draw  nigh 
to  God." 

How  long  will  you  draw  nigh  to  things  which 
cannot  draw  nigh  to  you,  to  the  creature  which 
cannot  even  understand,  far  less  satisfy,  the 
depth  of  your  thirst,  or  heal  your  conscience, 
or  give  you  the  peace  which  only  an  infinite 
love  can  bestow  ?  How  long  will  you  allow 
sin,  or  the  world,  or  the  force  of  dull  habit,  to 
prevent  you  from  facing  the  solemn  realities  of 
your  eternal  life,  from  turning  unto  the  living 
God  ?  And  you  who  are  satisfied  with  the 
shadow  of  Christ  flitting  across  your  mind  and 
imagination,  who  rest  in  the  knowledge  of  doc- 
trine, and  the  theory  of  religion,  "  draw  nigh  to 
God,"  rend  your  hearts,  repent  and  believe  on 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  your  sins  shall  be 
blotted  out,  and  Jesus  Himself  shall  dwell  in 
your  hearts.  See,  the  poor  and  guilty  one  hears 
the  call,  "  Draw  nigh."     Between  the  cherubim, 


If  God  be  for  tis.  175 

on  the  blood-besprlnkled  mercy-seat,  is  the  pre- 
sence of  the  sin-forgiving  and  yet  holy  God  ; 
but  the  sinner  stands  afar  off;  an  overwhelming 
awe,  fear,  shame,  self-condemnation,  transfix 
him  to  the  ground.  He  cannot  advance  ;  he 
cannot  draw  nigh  ;  he  has  no  strength,  no  cour- 
age ;  he  would  not  lift  up  so  much  as  the  eyes, 
the  expression  of  hope  and  entreaty,  to  heaven. 
Upon  his  breast  he  smites  ;  for  he  knows  his 
sins  came  not  from  without,  but  from  the  depth 
of  his  own  heart.  So  still  is  he,  and  absolutely 
poor.  Behold,  he  has  drawn  nigh  to  God,  and 
God  has  drawn  nigh  to  him  !  ^ 

Not  in  dark  symbol,  not  in  partial  and  frag- 
mentary types,  has  God  spoken  to  us.  Who  of 
us  is  ignorant  of  the  name  of  Jesus  ?  Who  of 
us  has  not  heard  from  childhood  the  sweet  story 
of  old  ?  Unto  whom  is  the  image  new  of  the 
Good  Shepherd  who  laid  down  His  life  for  the 
sheep,  and  whose  greatest  joy  it  is  to  seek  and 
to  save  the  lost  one  ?  And  when  the  thought 
of  judgment  and  eternity  alarms  the  worldly 
heart,  is  it  not  the  thought  of  God,  who  was  in 
Christ,  and  who  sent  the  message  of  reconcilia- 
tion to  His  enemies  ?^  It  is  not  the  remembrance 
of  mount  Sinai,  but  of  Golgotha,  which  alarms 
the  conscience  in  the  prospect  of  death. 

'  Luke  xviii.  13,  14.  "2  Cor.  v,  19,  20. 


I  76  If  God  be  for  its. 

Oh,  how  near  is  God !  The  Word  is  nigh 
unto  thee^ — in  thy  mouth  and  in  thy  mind,  in 
thy  imagination  and  in  thy  conscience.  Let  it 
sink  still  deeper,  where  alone  it  can  effect  its 
grand  object.  Believe  with  the  heart  in  Jesus. 
Faith  is  the  opening  of  the  heart  to  the  love  of 
God.      "  Draw  nigh  to  God." 

God  draws  nigh,  only  to  comfort".  The  con- 
solations of  God  have  their  centre  in  the  cross 
of  the  Lord  Jesus;  but  there  is  no  human  sorrow 
which  they  cannot  reach,  and  no  wound  of  the 
heart  which  they  cannot  heal. 

Many,  who  do  not  feel  the  burden  of  sin,  pass 
by  Jesus,  because  they  imagine  He  has  nothing 
else  to  give  but  pardon.  And  it  is  true,  that 
only  through  the  forgiveness  of  sins  all  divine 
blessinsfs  descend  into  our  hearts.  But  what 
Jesus  has  to  give  us,  and  He  alone,  is  all  that 
which  we  need.  He  possesses  the  only  remedy 
for  poor  and  weary  humanity.  He  alone  can 
give  peace  and  health  to  the  sick  and  restless 
heart.  He  calls  to  Himself  all  the  heavy-laden 
and  weary  ones  :   "If  any  man  thirst !  " 

For  it  is  not  a  question  about  sin  only,  it  is 
a  question  about  myself.  Man,  who  is  not  at 
peace  with  God,  is  not  at  peace  with  himself. 
Man  lost  many  blessings,  gifts,  and  treasures, 

3  Rom.  X.  8. 


If  God  be  for  tis.  1 7  7 

many  joys  and  hopes,  when  he  departed  from 
God.  But  above  all,  he  lost  himself  when  he 
forsook  God.  He  is  lost — he,  and  not  merely 
what  he  once  possessed.  The  centre  of  human 
existence  is  either  outside  us- — in  those  whom 
we  love,  in  activity  and  success  in  the  world — 
or  within  us.  "  My  mind  to  me  a  kingdom 
is,  my  self- approbation,  my  character."  But 
from  neither  of  these  centres  can  peace  and 
happiness  flow  into  the  soul.  Created  in  the 
image  of  God,  we  have  not  lost  the  thwst,  though 
we  have  departed  from  the  fountain  of  living 
water.  We  are  all  seeking 'goodly' pearls.  Alas! 
many  receive  and  try  to  be  satisfied  with  their 
good  things,  as  we  read  of  the  rich  man  ;  ^  but 
all  saints  in  heaven,  and  all  lost  ones  in  hell, 
testify  that  there  is  only  07ie  genuine,  true, 
beautiful,  and  precious  Pearly  the  only  One, 
all-comprehensive,  all-sufficient,  and  eternal. 

Men  will  never  truly  thank  God  for  their 
creation  until  they  praise  Him  for  their  redemp- 
tion. Men  must  feel  overwhelmed  with  the 
darkness  of  Providence  until,  inscribed  upon 
the  cross,  they  read,  in  shining  letters,  "  God  is 
love."    A  threefold  pain  takes  hold  of  our  souls 

"  Luke  xvi.  25  :  "  But  Abraham  said"  (unto  the  rich  man), 
''  Son,  remember  that  thou  in  thy  hfetime  receivedst  thy  good 
tilings,  and  Hkewise  Lazarus  evil  things." 

K 


lyS  If  God  be  for  us. 

when  we  realize  the  irreparable  Past,  with  its 
errors,  sins,  and  losses;  the  unsatisfying  Present, 
with  its  emptiness  and  weary  agitation  ;  and  the 
dark  Future,  with  its  uncertainty  and  gloom  ;  * 
until  we  turn  to  that  eternal  love,  which,  with 
the  bright  eye  of  all-comprehensive  wisdom  and 
the  tender  hand  of  unfailing  omnipotence,  orders 
all  things  to  work  together  for  our  good  ;  unless 
we  look  to  Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday, 
to-day,  and  for  ever ;  unless  we  draw  nigh  to 
God,  and  God  draws  nigh  to  us. 

Do  we  know  from  experience  this  mysterious 
reciprocity  and  communion  ?  Here  is  the  true, 
the  real  life.  There  is  a  hidden  life  of  thoughts 
and  feelings  in  every  man,  and  even  this  inner 
life  is  full  of  mysteries  which  we  cannot  fathom. 
But  the  Christian's  hidden  life  is  the  life  which 
is  not  merely  hid  in  his  own  soul,  but  which  is 
hid  with  Christ  in  God.  It  has  two  sanctuaries — 
one  in  heaven,  one  in  the  heart.  It  is  dialogue, 
and  not  monologue ;  it  is  the  continuous  approach 
of  God  to  the  soul,  and  of  the  soul  to  God  ;  it 
is  the  uninterrupted  manifestation  of  Christ  to 
the  heart,  and  the  constant  response  of  adora- 
tion and  love  ;  it  is  the  constant  inworking  of 
divine  grace,  and  the  constant  outworking  of 

s  Compare  on  the  contrast  between  time  life  and  eternal  life. 
(Chap.  xi.  II.) 


If  God  be  foj"  tis.  i  79 

the  believer  in  willing  and  doing  ;  it  is  the  Spirit 
indwelling,  witnessing,  comforting,  Christ-con- 
forming ;  and  our  spirit,  thus  energized,  taking 
hold  of  the  Father  and  His  Son  Jesus  Christ. 

Say  not  that  all  I  have  described  amounts 
simply  to  our  praying  to  God,  and  to  our  re- 
ceiving God's  answer  through  the  written  Word. 
Surely  prayer  and  the  written  Word  are  of 
essential  importance.  But  drawing  nigh  to  God 
means  rather  the  essence  and  the  culminating- 
point  of  prayer  than  prayer  itself;  it  is  that 
prayer  which  does  not  seek  so  much  separate 
gifts  of  His  grace,  but  which  seeks  to  take  hold 
of  Himself.  We  ask  not  light,  but  that  God 
should  be  our  light ;  we  ask  not  for  pardon,  but 
we  desire  to  be  kissed  by  the  Father ;  we  ask 
not  holiness,  but  that  the  Holy  One  should 
dwell  in  our  hearts  and  lives.  We  come  to 
God;  and  in  like  manner,  God  Himself  draws 
near  unto  us.  Herein  is  the  exceeding  love  of 
God,  that  His  gifts  and  graces  are  not  separate 
from  Himself,  but  are  part  of  His  life  within 
us.  For  the  Father  and  the  Son  dwell  in  us 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,^  and  thus  we  understand  and 
possess  in  fulness  what  the  Psalmist  rejoiced  in 
of  old,  that  God  Himself  is  our  refuge  and 
strength,  our  salvation  and  glory,  the  strength 

^  Compare  chap.  x. 


i8o  If  God  be  for  us. 

of  our  heart,  and  our  portion  for  ever.  It  is 
the  constant  desire  of  the  Christian  thus  to 
realize  the  indwelHng  of  God.  He  speaks  unto 
us  as  truly  as  He  did  unto  Abraham,  Moses, 
Paul.  For  we  know  that  the  revelations  of  God 
to  them,  the  divine  promises  and  commands, 
could  be  received  only  by  faith.  Peculiar  and 
fundamental  as  are  these  revelations  recorded 
in  Scripture,  yet  are  they  not  anomalous  and 
isolated,  but  rather  typical  of  all  the  self-mani- 
festations of  God  to  His  chosen  people. 

Jesus  gives  unto  us  as  immediate,  all-sufficient, 
heart- convincing  manifestation  of  Himself,  as 
when  He  appeared  unto  the  disciples,  and  said, 
"Peace  be  with  you;"  as  when  His  conde- 
scending grace  caused  Thomas  to  cry  out,  "  My 
Lord  and  my  God  ;"  as  when  He  sent  forth  His 
deeply-tried  and  well-nigh  despairing  apostle 
with  the  assurance,  "  My  grace  is  sufficient  for 
thee."  After  His  resurrection  our  adorable 
Lord  manifested  Himself  to  His  disciples.  He 
who  in  the  days  of  His  flesh  taught  daily  in 
the  temple,  and  was  seen  and  heard  of  the 
multitude,  appeared  now  only  unto  His  chosen 
friends.  "  God,"  as  the  apostle  Peter  says, 
"  raised  Him  up  the  third  day,  and  showed 
Him  openly  ;  not  to  all  the  people,  but  unto 
witnesses   chosen   before."      He  appeared.    He 


If  God  be  for  us.  i8i 

drew  near,  He  made  Himself  known.  He  after- 
wards called  Saul  by  name,  and  revealed  unto 
him  His  grace  and  power.  The  manifestation 
of  the  risen  Saviour  to  His  chosen  ones,  as 
recorded  in  Scripture,  is  typical  of  the  dealings 
of  the  ascended  Christ  with  the  soul  throughout 
this  dispensation.  It  is  the  Lord  Himself  who 
appears,  who  speaks,  who  makes  Himself  known 
unto  the  heart.  Mary  Magdalene  often  seeks 
Him  in  great  anxiety.  Her  intense  anxiety 
partly  prevents  her  recognising  the  presence  of 
the  beloved  Master ;  but  when  He  calls  her  by 
name,  she  knows  it  is  He.  The  salutation, 
"  Peace  be  with  you,"  is  heard,  and,  after  sorrow 
and  darkness,  the  sweet  light  shines  again. 
And  as  in  the  instances  recorded  in  the  gospels, 
the  Saviour  honours  the  written  Word  in  the 
most  marked  manner,  connecting  it  in  an  in- 
separable manner  with  Himself,  His  work,  and 
His  self-manifestation,  so  in  all  the  subsequent 
experiences  of  the  church  Christ  reveals  Him- 
self in,  with,  and  by  the  Word,  and  yet  in  such 
a  manner  that  it  is  known  He  reveals  Himself. 
The  written  Word  is  indeed  the  pre-eminent 
and,  in  many  ways,  indispensable  and  unique 
channel ;  but  it  is  God  Himself  who  draws  nigh 
to  the  heart  drawing  nigh  to  Him. 

Here  and  here  only  is  peace  and  consolation. 


1 8  2  If  God  be  for  us. 

Seek  it  not  in  doctrines  skilfully  and  soothingly- 
arranged  to  give  you  calm  slumber  and  a  kind 
of  logical  and  legal  trust-deed  security  ;  seek  it 
only  in  and  from  the  living  God.  "  I,  even  I, 
am  He  that  comforteth  you."  It  is  a  divine 
prerogative.  Thus  God  says  often  emphatically, 
"  I,  even  I,"  to  exclude  all  idols,  however  beau- 
tiful and  elevated — to  shut  us  up  to  Himself. 
God  alone  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth — 
"  I,  even  I  ;"  God  alone  redeemed  us,  and  for- 
giveth  all  our  iniquities  —  "I,  even  I;"  God 
alone,  who  knows  the  heart,  can  heal  and  glad- 
den it. 

And  as  God  draws  nigh  to  comfort  us  in  our 
sorrow  for  sin,  so  it  is  His  manifested  presence 
which  alone  can  comfort  us  in  affliction,  and 
amid  the  various  difficulties  of  our  earthly  life. 

The  soul  is  troubled  because  of  errors  and 
self-chosen  paths,  which  have  brought  to  us 
trial  and  disappointment.  We  feel  that  our  own 
mistakes,  wrong  decisions,  and  culpable  yielding 
to  worldly  and  sinful  influences  have  borne  bitter 
fruit.  While  we  fear  that  we  have  thus  marred 
and  injured  our  future,  and  while  with  bitter 
regret  we  dwell  on  the  past,  we  feel  that  it  would 
involve  much  self-abasement  to  draw  nigh  unto 
the  Lord,  that  His  presence  might  bring  us, 
above  all,  inward  calm,  and  afterwards  deliver- 


If  God  be  for  ns.  1 8 


o 


ance.  When  our  own  conduct  has  converted  a 
brother  into  an  adversary,  and  the  homeward 
path  into  a  dangerous  journey,  we  feel  Hke  Jacob, 
near  a  severe  conflict/  But  when  God  draws 
nigh.  He,  it  is  true,  begins  the  conflict  with  us  ;  "^ 
but  how  wonderful  is  the  victory  which  by  His 
own  grace  we  gain  !  For  we  draw  nigh  to  God, 
and  He  to  us.  The  soul  says  :  "  Peniel  :  I  have 
seen  God  face  to  face,  and  my  life  is  preserved." 
Or,  in  seasons  of  affliction  and  bereavement, 
in  times  of  difficult  and  perplexing  duties,  of 
deep  and  sore  inward  trials,  does  not  God's 
Spirit  then  so  bring  us  into  the  experience 
described  by  the  apostle  Paul  in  his  epistles  ^  to 
the  Corinthians,  when  we  are  pressed  out  of 

''  Genesis  xxxii. 

^  Gen.  xxxii.  24.  This  important  point,  viz.,  that  the  conflict 
is  begun  by  The  Man,  and  not  by  Jacob,  is  often  overlooked. 

'  In  no  epistle  is  the  inward  hfe  of  the  apostle  Paul  so  fully 
described  as  in  the  epistles  to  the  Corinthians.  Other  epistles 
give  us  a  fuller  view  of  his  mental  history  and  his  great  spiritual 
experience  of  grace  as  distinguished  from  law.  In  the  epistle  to 
the  Philippians  we  have  a  more  perfect  portraiture  of  his  real 
inmost  character,  of  his  deep-rooted  joy  and  peace  in  Christ. 
But  to  the  Corinthians  he  unfolds  the  conflict,  the  sorrow,  the 
weakness,  the  crucifixion,  which  he  constantly  experienced. 
Here  we  see  him  in  his  "weakness,"  and  yet  it  is  a  weakness 
in  which  he  can  glory.  When  we  see  him  weak,  we  see  him 
strong.  "  Most  gladly  therefore  will  I  rather  glory  in  my  infir- 
mities, that  the  power  of  Christ  may  rest  upon  me."  In  these 
epistles  we  may  learn  what  is  meant  by  "  the  fellowship  of 
Christ's  sufferings." 


184  If  God  be  foi^  us. 

measure,  above  strength,  in  order  that  God 
Himself  might  draw  nigh,  and  His  presence 
bring  to  us  all  we  need  ? 

When  the  heart  is  in  trouble,  it  must  ascend 
to  the  loftiest  height,  to  God  Himself.  Out  of 
the  depths  we  cry  unto  Him.  The  contempla- 
tion of  doctrines,  the  remembrance  of  truth, 
cannot  satisfy  us,  unless  we  convert  it  into 
present  reality,  unless  we  use  it  as  a  medium 
through  which  we  see  the  countenance  of  God, 
as  a  ladder  whereby  we  ascend  to  the  mountain- 
height  of  communion.  We  need  not  the  atone- 
ment merely,  but  God  the  Father  in  Jesus  ;  not 
redemption,  but  Jesus  Himself  our  Lord.  We 
then  hear  again  the  great  unanswerable  argu- 
ment, central  and  supreme  :  "He  that  spared 
not  His  own  Son,  but  delivered  Him  up  for  us 
all,  how  shall  He  not  with  Him  also  freely  give 
us  all  things  ? "  We  do  not  hear  the  argument 
merely,  but  we  behold  God.  We  feel  the  pre- 
sence of  God,  and  say,  He.  The  believer  beholds 
the  loving  Father.  The  soul  is  now  beyond 
and  above  mere  doctrine.  He  needs  not  now 
to  be  reminded  of  the  harmony  between  mercy 
and  truth,  grace  and  justice.  The  gift  of  Christ, 
crucified  and  exalted,  is  the  true  measure  of 
divine  love.  The  eyes  of  his  heart  cannot 
rest  on  any  lower  height.    The  presence  of  this 


If  God  be  for  us. 


Christ-giving  God  hushes  every  murmur,  dries 
every  tear,  banishes  all  unbelief.  The  Father 
is  beheld  loving  us  with  the  love  wherewith  He 
loves  the  Son.  God,  who  has  bestowed  on  us 
this  greatest  gift,  never  to  recall  it — who,  in 
order  to  bestow  it,  made  the  inconceivable  sacri- 
fice, will  freely  give  us  all  things  with  Him.  All 
without  Him  would  be  nothing.  If  God  were 
to  give  us  health  and  wealth,  influence  and 
honour,  without  and  apart  from  Christ,  how 
miserable  we  should  be!  If  He  were  to  give 
us  brightness  of  earthly  things,  to  the  obscuring 
of  Christ  to  our  heart,  as  was  the  case  with  Lot 
and  with  the  Israelites  when  He  sent  leanness 
into  their  souls,  how  sad  this  would  be !  But 
whatever  God  may  withhold,  and  whatever 
persecutions  and  troubles  He  may  add,  as  long 
as  He  gives  with  Christ,  He  gives  "all  things." 
And  what  are  all  things,  contrasted  with 
Christ  ?  All  things  are  still  finite  and  exhaust- 
ible ;  Christ  is  inexhaustible  and  infinite.  All 
things  are  outside  God  ;  Christ  is  within  God — 
the  only-begotten,  eternal,  and  sovereign  Son 
of  the  Father.  All  things  are  objects  of  divine 
favour,  according  to  their  position  and  capacity; 
Christ,  the  adequate  object  of  infinite  love.  'All 
things"  may  form  helps  to  bring  us  to  some 
knowledge  of  God;  they  reflect  something  of  His 


1 86  If  God  be  for  us. 

character  and  glory  ;  they  speak  some  part  of 
the  divine  message  ;  they  encourage  and  comfort 
us,  to  some  extent,  on  our  way.  But  Christ  is 
the  perfect,  adequate,  uhimate  revelation  of  God. 
In  Him  dwelleth  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead 
bodily;  and  He  not  merely  reveals,  He  imparts; 
for  we  dwell  in  Him,  and  He  in  us. 

And  "  all  things  "  are  ours  ;  and  those  of  the 
"  all  things  "  God  sees  we  need,  are  given  to  us 
when  and  as  we  require  them.  The  same  free 
and  self-moving  grace  which  made  the  stupen- 
dous sacrifice,  is  now  providing  for  our  every 
want,  and  supplying  our  every  need.  Infinite 
love  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  constantly  flow- 
ing towards  us  ;  God  is  always  loving  us  with 
the  same  intensity  as  when  Christ  died  for  us. 
Christ's  death  remains  the  measure  as  well  as 
the  channel ;  and  all  this  we  are  assured  of — 
and  why  }  Because  God  draws  nigh.  When 
we  behold  Him,  this  our  living  God — when  we 
feel  the  personal  presence,  then  all  that  is  within 
us  asks,  ''He  that  spared  not  His  own  Son,  but 
delivered  Him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  He  not 
with  Him  also  freely  give  us  all  things  }  "  Then 
is  fulfilled  the  word  of  the  prophet — "We  know 
that  it  is  He!'^ 

'  He  is,  according  to  the  Kabbala,  one  of  the  names  of  God, 
as  also  "  1."     Comp.  Isaiah  and  gospel  of  ]o\\\\ passim. 


If  God  be  for  us.  1 8  7 

It  is  true,  without  any  restriction,  that  all 
things  are  freely  given  unto  us.  The  mind  is 
not  able  to  take  in  the  immensity  of  this  con- 
ception ;  it  is  a  thought  on  which  the  apostle 
Paul  seems  to  have  dwelt  often. ^  Let  us  think, 
then,  of  God,  to  whom  all  things  belong.  Before 
they  were  created  they  were  His;  it  was  His 
pleasure.  His  omnipotence,  His  sovereignty, 
that  called  them  into  being.  How  truly  are 
they  His !  The  very  possibility  of  their  exist- 
ence, the  very  idea  of  their  being  and  nature, 
can  only  be  traced  to  this  sovereign  and  eternal 
Source.  His  are  all  angels  and  men,  all  things 
visible  and  invisible,  things  present  and  things 
to  come.     His — and  God   is   from   eternity  to 

^  Thus  in  Rom.  viii.  28  and  32,  all  things  freely  given,  and 
working  together.  In  i  Cor.  iii.  21,  all  things  are  the  believer's. 
In  Eph.  i.  22,  all  things  put  under  the  feet  of  Christ  at  the  right 
hand  of  God.  In  Col.  i.  16  and  20,  all  things  are  said  to  have 
been  created  by  Christ,  and  for  Christ,  who  is  before  all  things 
(as  their  eternal  Source  and  beginning.  Comp.  Prov.  viii.  and 
Rev.  iii.  14),  and  by  whom  all  things  are  reconciled  to  the 
Father.  Again,  in  Heb.  ii.  8,  the  apostle  emphasizes  the  "all 
things"  of  Psalm  viii.,  that  are  put  in  subjection  to  the  Son  of 
Man.  (Comp.  i  Cor.  xv.  27.)  And  lastly,  the  magnificent  con- 
clusion of  the  stupendous  argument  of  Rom.  i.-xi. :  "  For  of 
Him,  and  through  Him,  and  to  Him,  are  all  things  :  to  whom  be 
glory  for  ever.  Amen."  We  may  find  in  such  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture all  elements  of  truth  and  beauty,  which  have  been  mingled 
with  dangerous  error  in  Pantheistic  systems.  Scripture,  like 
Christ,  came  not  to  destroy  (anything  good  and  true),  but  to 
fulfil. 


1 88  If  God  be  for  us. 


eternity — Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.  All 
things  are  of  the  Father,  and  all  things  are  in 
and  for  the  Son,  and  all  things  are  through  the 
Spirit.  God  gave  all  things  which  were  made 
by  the  Word  unto  His  Son,  the  Mediator,  the 
Christ,  whom  He  hath  appointed  heir  of  all 
things.®  How  glorious  and  rich  is  Christ!  and 
this  Christ  is  God's  gift  to  us.  Christ  is  ours 
by  the  Father's  eternal  donation,  and  by  the 
Saviour's  own  voluntary  reception  of  us,  imply- 
ing His  incarnation,  death,  and  resurrection,  and 
His  drawing  us  unto  Himself  by  His  Spirit. 
Marvellous  chain !  God  sfives  all  thinofs  unto 
Christ — God  gives  Christ  unto  us  ;  and  if  Christ 
is  ours,  then  all  things  are  ours — we  are  joint- 
heirs  with  tlim.  "  He  that  overcometh  shall 
inherit  all  things T 

But  how  is  it  that  we  enter  into  the  conscious- 
ness of  this  amazing  possession  and  boundless 
wealth  ?  Ah !  it  is  by  the  old  strait  gate. 
We  must  first  become  poor.  What  do  I  mean 
by  poor- — not  relatively,  but  absolutely,  poor  ? 
Have  we  given  away  and  renounced  everything 
we  had  ?  then  we  must  descend  into  still  lower 
depths  of  poverty  ;  we  must  give  up  our  very 
self  "Ye  are  not  your  own."  Only  when  we 
are  not  our  own,  when  we  are  Christ's,  are  all 

3  Comp.  Rev.  iv.  ii  ;  John  i.  1-3  ;  Heb.  i.  2  ;  John  iii.  35. 


If  God  be  for  us.  189 

things  ours — "  We  having  nothing,  and  yet 
possessing  all  things."*  Christ  has  purchased 
us  with  His  precious  blood,  and  we  are  His 
slaves.  Our  bodies  and  our  spirits  are  now 
God's,  both  by  right  of  creation  and  redemp- 
tion, and,  may  I  add,  by  our  conversion,  or  by 
our  consent  to  be  absolutely  the  Lord's.  How 
rich  is  Christ  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father !  how 
rich  are  we  in  the  bosom  of  Christ!  How  hieh 
is  Christ  at  the  ri^ht  hand  of  God !  how  hi^h 
are  we,  in  spirit  and  reality  already,  upon  Christ's 
right  hand,  "the  queen  in  gold  of  Ophir!" 

God  draws  nigh — and  whom  shall  we  fear  ? 
Say  not,  "How  are  my  foes  increased!  many 
there  be  that  rise  up  against  me."^  Say  not, 
My  own  sins  have  injured  my  future  ;  my  errors 

■*  I  often  remember  a  little  German  fairy-tale  which  used  to 
delight  me  in  my  childhood.  There  was  a  very  poor  little  orphan 
girl.  She  was  without  home  and  friends.  Alone  she  went  out 
into  the  wood  as  night  was  coming  on.  She  was  very  thinly 
clad  ;  a  single  small  coin  was  her  only  possession,  and  a  piece 
of  bread  which  she  carried  in  her  hand.  She  met  a  poor  man, 
and  she  gave  him  her  piece  of  money  ;  she  met  another,  and 
she  gave  him  her  bread  ;  she  met  a  little  child,  cold  and  shiver- 
ing, and  she  gave  away  her  only  garment.  And  now  she  had 
nothing — nothing.  And  she  looked  up  to  heaven,  and  saw  the 
many  bright  stars,  and  behold,  they  all  came  down  in  a  golden 
shower,  and  she  was  rich  and  beautiful  for  ever  ! 

s  Thus  begin  the  Psalms  of  poor  and  afflicted  David,  after 
the  introductory  objective,  grand  first  and  second  Psalms,  with 
their  commencement  and  end  of  Blessed.   (Ps.  i.  i  ;  ii.  12.) 


1 90  If  God  be  fo?^  tts. 

cannot  be  cancelled  ;  my  false  choice  cannot  be 
rectified.  "  All  things  "  work  together.  Mar- 
vellous truth !  That  all  things  work,  we  know 
to  our  sorrow.  The  hasty  word  uttered,  the 
unkind  look,  the  selfish  omission — in  short, 
whatever  is  not  of  faith  and  of  love — once  it 
goes  forth  out  of  the  secret  chamber  of  the 
heart,  alas !  it  works  both  without  and,  by  a 
reflex  action,  it  defiles  and  weakens  the  soul. 
The  hostile  worldly  influences,  and  natural  and 
demoniac  powers,  all  work ;  but  who  would 
have  thought  they  would  work  together  ?  Who 
could  have  hoped  that  the  same  Lord  who 
hateth  iniquity,  and  whose  judgment  always 
begins  with  His  own  house,  will  yet  lead  the 
sons  of  Jacob  through  the  devious  and  wicked 
path  of  their  evil,  to  the  love  and  generosity  of 
their  brother  Joseph  ?  Here  sin  is  not  felt  less 
sinful,  but  God  more  glorious.  I  bow  my  knees 
before  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  "  How  unsearchable  are  His  judgments, 
and  His  ways  past  finding  out!  Oh  the  depth 
of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge 
of  God  !  "  We  thought  evil  against  the  Lord  ; 
but  God  meant  it  unto  good.  Thus  Israel's 
rejection  of  the  Messiah  becomes  the  occasion 
of  the  Gentiles  being  brought  in,  and  Israel 
itself  shall  at  length  adore  the  ways  of  God. 


If  God  be  for  us.  191 

Nay,  in  the  presence  of  Christ  we  are  led  still 
deeper  into  this  mystery,  and  more  unfathom- 
able still  is  the  mystery  which  explains  it.  Sin 
itself  has  become  the  occasion  of  our  being 
exalted  into  a  far  higher  than  Paradise-state. 
The  grace  of  God  doth  more  abound  unto  eter- 
nal life.  One  with  Jesus,  the  incarnate  Son  of 
God,  we  cannot  regret  the  fall,  though  we  con- 
fess with  deep  self-abasement  our  radical  and 
inherited  corruption.  Sons  of  Adam  are  now 
one  with  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God.  Marvellous 
exaltation  of  the  dust  of  earth !  The  eternal 
purpose  and  the  ultimate  object  is,  that  Jesus 
be  exalted.  We  cannot  understand,  but  we 
adore,  this  all-comprehensive  and  all-victorious 
counsel  of  divine  love.  Satan's  victory  and 
man's  fall  is  a  dark  enigma ;  but — 

"  No  purpose  of  wisdom 

Was  altered  thereby  ; 
'Twas  all  for  the  lifting 

Of  Jesus  on  high. 
Here  Satan  was  baffled 

In  what  he  had  done  ; 
The  fall  wrought  the  channel 

Where  mercy  should  run 
In  streams  of  salvation 

Which  never  run  dry  ; 
'Twas  all  for  the  lifting 

Of  Jesus  on  high." 

"We  know  that  all  things  work  together  for 


192  If  God  be  for  tis. 

good  to  them  that  love  God."  It  is  not  merely 
a  devout  wish  and  hope,  but  a  certain  convic- 
tion. God  comforts  with  realities.  The  Spirit 
reveals  things  freely  given  to  us  of  God,  and 
then  the  soul  responds,  I  believe  ;  or,  I  know  ; 
for  faith  substantiates  the  unseen.  Faith  is  the 
most  absolute  and  certain  knowledge.  Join,  oh 
sorrowful  and  doubting  believers  who  love  God, 
the  great  company  of  thy  fellow-sufferers,  and 
say.  We  know  !  Hear  the  apostle  Paul.  Who 
ever  suffered  more  ?  and  yet  there  is  no  hesita- 
.tion  in  his  voice. 

Experience  is  not  transferable.  No  human 
testimony,  even  inspired,  can  be  to  us  more 
than  testimony.  It  cannot  be  a  substitute  or  a 
guarantee.  But  in  the  experience  of  the  apostle 
Paul  (Rom  viii.),  every  child  of  God  will  find 
both  a  description  of  his  own,  and  abundant 
encouragement,  guidance,  and  consolation. 

Here  is  a  man  in  Christ  Jesus.  There  is 
now  no  condemnation  to  him.  Sin  has  been 
judged,  condemned,  and  put  away.  The  Spirit 
of  Christ  dwells  in  him.  He  is  not  in  the  flesh; 
but  the  flesh  is  still  in  him.  He  has  to  mortify 
the  deeds  of  the  body  ;  it  is  a  painful  and  daily 
struggle  Besides,  he  is  in  manifold  afflictions. 
He  is  living  in  a  world  of  suffering.  The  very 
creation    even   groans   by  reason  of  bondage. 


If  God  be  for  iis.  193 

He  also  groans  within  himself,  waiting  for  the 
redemption  of  the  body. 

This  justified  one,  inhabited  by  the  Spirit, 
is  thus  saved  only  in  hope.  He  has  still  the 
conflict  with  sin  amid  the  afflictions  of  this 
time,  and  he  has  to  possess  his  soul  in  patience. 
Thus  he  draws  nigh  to  God.  But  there  he 
feels  his  weakness.  His  infirmities  overwhelm 
him.  He  knows  not  what  to  pray  for  as  he 
ought.  Full  of  want,  he  is  silent.  But  the 
Spirit  of  God  helps  him.  He  creates  within 
him  deep  and  believing  longings  after  the  eter- 
nal blessings  ;  too  deep  for  utterance,  but  not 
too  great  for  the  Father's  response.  And  now 
he  has  reached  the  highest  point.  He  sees  God 
for  us.  God  loved  us  from  all  eternity,  and 
called  us  according  to  His  promise.  All  things 
must  work  together  for  good.  Beholding  this 
God  as  He  gave  up  His  own  Son,  he  trium- 
phantly asks  :  "Shall  He  not  with  Him  freely 
give  us  all  things  ?"  Beholding  the  Lord  Jesus 
who  died,  yea,  rather  that  is  risen  again,  who  is 
even  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  who  this  very 
moment  in  faithful  love  maketh  intercession  for 
us,  he  asks  :  "Who  can  accuse  or  condemn  us  ? 
and  who  can  separate  us  from  the  love  of 
Christ  ?"  Afflictions  and  sufferings  abound  ;  but 
in  overcoming   them,  we   are  more   than  con- 

o 


1 94  If  God  be  for  us. 

querors  ;  we  are  not  exhausted  after  the  victory, 
but  invigorated,  and  more  deeply  rooted  in  the 
love  of  Christ.  Perfect  is  our  peace.  "  Neither 
death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor 
powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come, 
nor  height,  nor  depth  "^ — has  he  forgotten  any 
possible  adverse  power  ?  is  there  any  other  ad- 
versary in  the  realms  of  space  ?  is  there  any 
other  shadow  of  dark  and  vague  apprehension  '^. 
— "  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be  able  to  sepa- 
rate us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus."  Love  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  !  It  con- 
tinues sounding  in  our  hearts,  as  when  silver 
bells  have  ceased  ringing.  Love  of  God  in 
Christ  Jesus ! 

"Is  God  for  me ?  I  fear  not, 

Though  all  against  me  rise  ; 
I  call  on  Christ,  my  Saviour  ; 

The  host  of  evil  flies  ; 
My  Friend,  the  Head  all-glorious. 

And  He,  who  loves  me,  God  ; 
What  enemy  shall  harm  me, 

Though  coming  as  2. flood? 
I  know  it,  I  believe  it, 

I  say  it  fearlessly — 
That  God,  the  best,  the  highest. 

Doth  heartily  love  me. 
At  all  times,  in  all  places. 

He  standeth  at  my  side  ; 
What  works  me  woe  He  hinders  ; 

He  checks  the  storm  and  tide. 


If  God  be  for  us.  195 


"  A  Rock  that  stands  for  ever 

Is  Christ,  my  Righteousness, 
And  there  I  stand  unfearing 

In  everlasting  bhss  ; 
No  earthly  thing  is  needful 

To  this  my  life  from  heaven. 
And  nought  of  love  is  worthy 

Save  that  which  Christ  has  given  ■ 
Christ,  all  my  praise  and  glory, 

My  light  most  sweet  and  fair ; 
The  ship  in  which  He  saileth 

Is  scathless  everywhere  : 
In  Him  I  dare  be  joyful 

As  a  hero  in  the  war. 
The  judgment  of  the  sinner 

Affrighteth  me  no  more. 

"  There  is  no  condemnation, 

There  is  no  pang  for  me  ; 
The  torment  and  the  fire 

My  eyes  shall  never  see  ; 
For  me  there  is  no  sentence, 

For  me  death  hath  no  sting, 
Because  the  Lord  who  loves  me 

Doth  shield  me  with  His  wing. 
Above  my  soul's  dark  waters 

His  Spirit  hovers  still. 
He  guards  me  from  all  sorrows, 

From  terror  and  from  ill ; 
In  me  He  works,  and  blesses 

The  life-seed  He  has  sown, 
From  Him  I  learn  the  'Abba,' 

That  prayer  of  faith  alone. 

"  And  if  in  lonely  places, 
A  fearful  child,  I  shrink. 
He  prays  the  prayers  within  me, 
I  cannot  ask  or  think — 


196  If  God  be  for  us. 


The  deep  unspoken  language, 

Known  only  to  that  love, 
Who  fathoms  the  heart's  mystery 

From  the  throne  of  light  above. 
His  Spirit  to  my  spirit 

Sweet  words  of  comfort  saith. 
How  God  the  weak  one  strengthens, 

Who  leans  on  Him  in  faith  ; 
How  He  hath  built  a  city 

Of  love,  and  light,  and  song, 
Where  the  eye  at  last  beholdeth 

What  the  heart  had  loved  so  long. 

"  And  there  is  my  inheritance, 

My  kingly  palace,  home  ; 
The  leaf  may  fall  and  perish — 

Not  less  the  spring  will  come  ; 
Like  wind  and  rain  of  winter. 

Our  earthly  sighs  and  tears. 
Till  the  golden  summer  dawneth 

Of  the  endless  year  of  years. 
The  world  may  pass  and  perish, 

Thou,  God,  wilt  not  remove  ; 
No  hatred  of  all  en'mies 

Can  part  me  from  thy  love  ; 
No  hungering  nor  thirsting. 

No  poverty  nor  care, 
No  wrath  of  mighty  princes 

Can  reach  my  shelter  there. 

"No  angel,  and  no  brightness, 

No  throne,  nor  power,  nor  might — 
No  love,  no  tribulation, 

No  danger,  fear,  nor  flight — 
No  height,  no  depth,  no  creature 

That  has  been  or  can  be. 
Can  drive  me  from  thy  bosom. 

Can  sever  me  from  thee  : 


If  God  be  for  us.  197 

My  heart  in  joy  upleapeth, 

Grief  cannot  linger  there  ; 
She  singeth  high  in  glory 

Amidst  the  sunshine  fair  ; 
The  Sun  that  shines  upon  me, 

Is  Jesus  and  His  love  ; 
The  fountain  of  my  singing 

Is  deep  in  heaven  above." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

COMMUNION    WITH    GOD    IN    DAILY    LIFE. 

"  Draw  nigh  to  God,  and  He  will  draw  nigh  to  yon" 
James  iv.  8. 

T  HAVE  endeavoured  to  lead  you  into  the' 
'■■  sanctuary  of  the  hidden  Hfe.  In  speaking 
of  the  communion,  which  divine  grace  insti- 
tutes between  God  and  the  soul,  my  object  has 
been  not  so  much  to  teach  or  to  exhort  as  to 
say :  Oh,  come  and  taste  that  the  Lord  is  gra- 
cious ! — Brethren,  there  is  a  river,  the  streams 
of  which  make  glad  the  city  of  our  God.  The 
source  of  that  river  is  the  eternal  love  which 
chose  us  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  the  end  of  that 
river  is  the  everlasting  glory ;  but  this  very 
moment  the  river,  full  of  divine  vitality,  power, 
and  beauty,  flows  with  fertilising  and  refreshing 
power  through  our  hearts  and  lives.  We  see 
it,  we  rejoice  in  it ;  and  would  it  be  what  it  is 
were  its  source  not  in  the  hidden,  mysterious 
mountain-heights  of  eternal  election  ?  were  its 
end  not  in  the  shoreless  ocean  of  infinite 
blessedness  ? 


ComnuiniojL  with  God  in  Daily  Life.      199 

As  our  minds  have  dwelt  on  the  central 
experience  of  communion  with  God,  it  may  be 
profitable  to  consider  now  the  connection  be- 
tween this  centre  and  the  large  circumference 
of  daily  life,  with  its  duties  and  trials.  How  is 
the  Sabbath  of  the  heart  to  be  maintained 
among  the  alternations  of  joy  and  sorrow, 
activity  and  recreation  ?  The  favourite  expres- 
sion of  the  day  is  :  Religion  in  common  life- 
Let  us  rather  ask  the  question  :  How  can  we 
at  all  times  obey  the  precept,  Draw  nigh  to  God, 
and  enjoy  the  promise.  And  God  will  draw  nigh 
to  you  ?  Open  your  hearts  to  the  love  of  God, 
and  let  all  that  is  within  you  go  forth  to  meet 
the  Brideofroom.  For  such  is  His  affection  and 
the  tenderness  of  His  heart,  that  He  is  not 
willing  to  leave  you  anywhere  or  at  any  time 
without  His  presence.  Let  it  suffice  us  to  have 
spent  so  many  hours  and  days  in  unnecessary 
separation  from  Him,  and  to  have  understood 
so  little  the  attractive  power  and  sweetness  of 
our  crucified  Lord.  "  Love  doth  the  whole — 
not  part — desire." 

It  is  because  God  is  love  that  it  is  His  desire 
that  we  are  always  to  be  in  communion  with 
Him.  Here  is  our  highest  privilege,  our  truest 
liberty.  To  follow  the  Lord  fully,  to  be  always 
giving  thanks,  and  to  do  all  things  in  the  name 


200     Comnm7iion  with  God  in  Daily  Life. 

of  Christ,  is  to  walk  in  the  Hght  of  God's 
countenance.  It  is  necessary  to  think  of  this, 
because  the  world  and  the  worldly  mind  within 
us  think  differently.  You  know  how  at  all 
times  the  world  has  reo^arded  earnest  Christians 
who  endeavour  to  do  all  things  to  God's  glory 
as  exaggerated  and  legal,  righteous  overmuch, 
pietistic,  Puritanic,  and  even  as  hypocritical. 
How  strange  that  it  should  not  be  clear  to  all 
that  God  must  be  first  to  those  who  know  and 
love  Him  ;  that  Christ,  who  died  for  us,  claims 
all  our  heart  and  all  our  life  ;  that  the  love  or 
fear  of  God  is  something  so  deeply  rooted  in 
the  heart,  that  we  can  never  lay  it  aside  or 
separate  it  from  our  feelings  and  thoughts,  our 
tastes  and  habits.  May  we  not  rather  charge 
those  with  pietism  and  hypocrisy  who  pray  to 
God  only  occasionally,  who  reserve  the  remem- 
brance of  Christ  and  of  immortality  only  for 
rare  and  outwardly-striking  events  of  their  life  ? 
But  is  it  not  in  accordance  with  reason,  and  all 
the  deeper  feelings  of  the  human  heart,  that, 
having  found  our  one  Master  and  Love,  and 
having  entered  in  by  the  strait  gate  on  our 
journey  to  the  pearly  gates  of  the  heavenly 
Jerusalem,  we  should  now  wish  our  life  to  be 
of  one  piece,  real,  sincere,  harmonious,  where 
everything  is  pervaded  by  the  same  spirit,  so 


Commtmioti  with  God  in  Daily  Life.     201 

that  whenever  our  Lord  comes,  and  wherever 
He  finds  us,  in  meditation,  or  in  our  daily  work, 
at  play  with  our  children,  or  in  social  converse, 
He  may  find  us  in  loyal  and  obedient  affection  ? 
And  as  this  is  the  desire  and  aim  of  the 
Christian,  so  is  it  of  the  loving  God  ;  He  has 
given  us  both  guidance  and  promise  in  His 
w^ord  that  it  may  be  thus.  He  has  by  His 
Holy  Spirit  taken  up  His  abode  within  us  ;  He, 
according  to  His  promise,  will  so  walk  in  us, 
in  our  thoughts  and  will,  our  energies  and 
activities,  as  well  as  our  feeling  and  imagina- 
tion, that,  like  the  apostle,  our  ways  are  in 
Christ  Jesus, 

Even  before  the  advent  of  Immanuel- — ^oh, 
happy  Christians  who  know  Jesus! — even  before 
the  advent  of  Immanuel,  the  saints  of  God  knew 
that  the  love  of  God  desired  their  whole  heart 
and  their  whole  life.  Of  Enoch  it  is  said,  he 
walked  with  God.  And  to  Abraham  no  less 
comprehensive  and  loving  command  was  given 
than  this  :  "  Walk  before  me,  and  be  thou 
perfect."  As  a  mother  delights  to  be  always 
seeing  and  watching  her  child,  so  all  our  days 
are  to  be  spent  in  the  presence  of  God,  and  our 
heart  is  to  seek  always  to  please  Him.  We  are 
to  hide  nothing  from  God  ;  all  our  thoughts 
and  works,  pursuits  and  enjoyments,  are  to  be 


202     Co7n7mcnio7i  with  God  in  Daily  Life. 

transparent  before  Him  ;  He  is  to  be  with  us 
in  all  our  cares  and  sorrows,  in  all  our  pros- 
perity and  mirth. 

So  simple  were  God's  dealings  with  the  pa- 
triarchs. But  when  the  law  was  given  through 
Moses,  then,  adapting  Himself  to  man's  weak- 
ness, the  Lord  minutely  analysed  and  unfolded 
this  one  precept  of  walking  with  God.  We 
Christians  are  accustomed  to  regard  the  law  of 
Moses  as  contrasted  with  the  gospel  of  Jesus. 
Ye  are  not  come  to  mount  Sinai,  but  to  mount 
Zion.  By  the  law  is  the  knowledge  of  sin,  by 
the  gospel  the  knowledge  of  salvation.  The  law 
pronounces  condemnation,  the  gospel  declares 
eternal  life.  The  law  cannot  give  life,  the  gospel 
brings  the  Holy  Ghost.^ 

This  contrast  is  true,  and  most  important. 
Every  Jew  who  comes  to  the  Lord  Jesus  ex- 
periences this  contrast  with  great  distinctness 
and  intensity.  So,  I  suppose,  does  every  one 
who  has  gone  about  to  establish  his  own  right- 
eousness. But  having  experienced  this  contrast, 
let  us  remember  that  the  law  is  to  be  considered 
in  another  aspect.  The  apostle  Paul  does  not 
overlook  this  second  aspect,"  though  he  dwells 
more  on  the  first.  In  the  epistle  of  James  it 
is  always  pre-supposed.     It  is  the  view  which 

'  Heb.  xii.  i8  ;  Rom.  iii.  20 ;  Gal.  iii.  5.         *  Gal.  iv. 


Co77tm7i7iion  with  God  in  Daily  Life.     203 

the  godly  Israelites  themselves  took  of  the 
law  while  they  lived  under  it ;  it  is  the  view 
which,  in  my  opinion,  converted  and  restored 
.Israel  will  take,  when  in  a  modified  and  trans- 
figured way,  they  shall  yet  fijlfil  every  jot  and 
tittle  of  that  law  which  was  given  them  for  all 
ofenerations. 

David  and  all  the  godly  Israelites  were  saved 
by  grace,  and  justified  by  faith.  They  did  not 
seek  salvation  by  the  works  of  the  law. 
Zechariah  and  Elizabeth,  John  the  Baptist, 
aged  Simeon,  and  all  who  waited  for  the  re- 
demption of  Israel,  rejoiced  in  grace,  and  yet 
walked  in  all  the  ordinances  of  the  law.  Nay, 
the  apostles  themselves,  in  Jerusalem  and 
among  Jewish  Christians,  observed  the  law  of 
Moses.     And  what  is  this  law  ? 

The  kernel  of  the  law,  given  to  Israel  through 
Moses,  is,  love  to  God  and  to  man.  But  this 
general  and  central  principle  finds  man  a  mem- 
ber of  a  family,  of  society,  of  a  nation.  It 
finds  him  living  in  this  world  of  seed-time  and 
harvest,  of  work  and  rest,  of  buying  and  selling, 
of  sickness  and  death.  What  does  the  law  do  } 
The  law  says,  God  loves  you  ;  and  God  desires 
that  you  may  have  His  presence  and  blessing 
always.  Therefore  the  law  takes  cognizance 
of  every  branch  of  human  life.     It  refers  to  our 


204     Communio7i  with  God  in  Daily  Life. 

food  and  to  our  garment ;  it  accompanies  us 
from  our  birth  to  our  grave.  It  claims  our 
time  and  our  wealth  ;  it  connects  seed-time  and 
harvest,  all  natural  life,  with  spiritual  truths, 
redemption-acts,  and  anticipations  of  the  future 
glory.  There  is  nothing  in  our  life  in  which 
God  is  not  interested,  where  He  is  to  be  absent ; 
there  is  nothing  wherein  we  may  not  glorify 
and  obey  Him.  Israel's  whole  life  is  to  be  a 
life  in  communion  with  Him  who  chose  them, 
and  brought  them  out  of  Egypt,  the  house  of 
bondage. 

The  law  moreover  finds  us  sinful  and  defiled. 
Sin  is  in  us  and  around  us.  God  gave  His 
people  Israel  laws  to  remind  them  of  their  sins, 
to  bring  before  them  even  their  unconscious 
sins,  and  sins  of  ignorance,  that  they  may  not 
be  like  the  thoughtless  and  degraded  world, 
which  do  not  notice  or  forget  their  sins,  until  at 
last  the  very  power  of  discerning  sin  becomes 
blunted.  The  inner  light  itself  becomes  dark- 
ened, and  sin,  which  is  no  burden  on  the  con- 
science, is  only  the  more  securely  enshrined  in 
the  heart  as  an  idol.  Israel  was  under  the 
discipline  of  a  law ;  severe,  as  it  brought  their 
whole  life  into  the  light  of  divine  truth  and 
holiness ;  merciful,  in  that  it  provided  the 
assurance  of  forgiveness  and  purification.     The 


Co7n7nunion  with  God  in  Daily  Life.     205 

sacrifices  and  offerings  were  ordained  that  they 
might  continually  confess  their  sin  and  defile- 
ment, and  continually  receive  the  consolation 
of  expiation  and  cleansing.  The  conscience 
was  purified,  and  their  communion  with  God 
continued 

Thus  the  breadth  of  the  law  connected  the 
whole  life  with  God ;  the  depth  of  the  law 
demanded  constant  meditation  on  God's  word. 
The  Israelite  was  to.  speak  of  God  and  of  His 
wonders  to  his  children  morning  and  evening ; 
and  not  merely  was  the  fear  of  the  Lord  the 
fundamental  principle  of  the  family,  but  Israel 
was  tauo-ht  that  our  relation  to  our  neiofhbour 
was  in  reality  only  another  aspect  of  our  relation 
to  God.  Jehovah  identified  Himself  with  the 
stranger,  the  widow  and  orphan,  the  helpless, 
the  blind  ;  and  in  doing  acts  of  kindness  to  them, 
we  are  to  remember  that  they  are  His  repre- 
sentatives ;  hence  all  commandments  concern- 
ing them  have  this  seal :  I  am  the  Lord. 

A  godly  Israelite  would  therefore  speak  in 
this  manner :  How  dearly  God  does  love  us  ! 
Our  whole  life  is  in  His  presence.  Whether 
we  eat  or  drink,  sow  or  reap,  rejoice  in  our 
families  or  go  about  our  work,  in  our  solitude 
and  in  all  our  dealings  with  men,  we  are  with 
Him,  doing  what  He  commanded  us ;   pleasing 


2o6     Conimtinion  with  God  in  Daily  Life. 

Him,  and  then  receiving  His  gifts  with  thanks- 
giving. True,  His  law  reminds  us  daily  of  our 
trespasses  ;  and  not  merely  of  our  actual  sins, 
but  of  our  sinfulness  and  defilement  This 
humbles  us  ;  but  there  is  forgiveness  with  Him. 
The  law  reveals  to  us  atonement,  and  His 
promise  to  circumcise  and  renew  our  hearts. 
God  makes  us  constantly  draw  nigh  to  Him, 
and  He  constantly  draws  nigh  to  us.  This 
joyous  character  of  the  law,  traces  of  which 
may  still  be  noticed  among  the  Jews,  especially 
in  the  spirit  in  which  they  observe  their  festi- 
»  vals,  meets  us  in  the  books  of  Moses  and  the 
Psalms.  Happy  art  thou,  O  Israel,  is  the  key- 
note ;  blessed  are  they  whom  God  chooses  to 
approach  unto  Him. 

How  easily  is  this  translated  into  New  Tes- 
tament language,  or  rather  re-translated  into 
the  original.  For  the  law  was  a  parenthesis  ; 
the  gospel  was  before  Moses  in  the  Abrahamic 
covenant,  even  as  it  is  from  everlasting.  The 
law  is  now  written  in  our  hearts,  and  the  out- 
ward and  minute  regulations  are  no  longer 
needed.  But  can  the  gospel  idea  of  life  be 
less  spiritual  and  comprehensive  than  that  of 
the  law  ?  Is  it  possible  for  us  to  separate  eating 
and  drinking,  working  and  resting,  family  and 
social   life,   nature   and    Providence,    from  the 


Communion  zvitJi  God  in  Daily  Life.     207 

inward  centre  of  love  to  God,  who  redeemed 
us  with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ  ?  No ; 
the  life  which  we  now  live  in  the  flesh  ;  mark  it, 
in  the  flesh ;  that  is,  our  whole  earthly  life,  in 
all  its  aspects,  is  a  life  of  faith  in  the  Son  of 
God,  who  loved  us,  and  gave  Himself  for  us. 
All  things  must  be  brought  to  Christ,  and  Christ 
must  be  brought  unto  all  things.  Love  doth 
the  whole,  not  part,  desire. 

"  Love  doth  the  whole,  not  part,  desire. 
My  Lord,  so  doth  Thy  love  require  ; 

And  such  is  my  heart-cry  for  Thee. 
Thus  love  by  love  shall  mount  yet  higher  ; 
All  mine,  all  Thine,  the  bond  shall  be." 

Tersteegen. 

The  obedience  of  the  Christian,  as  Leighton 
observes,  though  imperfect,  hath  a  certain,  if  I 
may  so  say,  imperfect  perfection.  The  whole 
man  is  subjected  to  the  whole  law,  and  that 
constantly  and  perse veringly.^ 

And  now  let  me  suggest  a  few  thoughts, 
which  may  encourage  and  help  us.  If  God 
loves  us,  and  we  love  God,  if  our  own  will  is 
clinging  to  His  sweet  will,  then  will  obedience 

3  That  this  threefold  perfection  of  obedience  is  not  a  picture 
drawn  by  fancy  is  evident  in  David  (Ps.  cxix.),  when  he  subjects 
himself  to  the  whole  law,  his  feet  {v.  105),  his  mouth  [v.  13),  his 
heart  {v.  ii),  the  whole  tenor  of  his  life  ico.  24).  He  subjects 
himself  to  the  whole  law  {v.  6),  and  he  professes  his  constancy 
therein  {vv.  16,  33),  "  I  shall  keep  it  to  the  end." — Leighton. 


2o8     Communion  with  God  in  Daily  Life. 

be  an  easy  yoke  and  a  light  burden.  Only  let  us 
avoid  the  insipid  mediocrity  and  lukewarmness, 
which  cannot  and  will  not  rise  to  the  height  of 
divine  love,  demanding  our  whole  self— body, 
soul,  and  spirit,  which  never  beholds  the  glory 
of  Jesus,  who  transforms  us  by  the  daily  renew- 
ing of  our  mind,  even  as  He  changed  the  water 
into  wine. 

I.  GOD  HIMSELF  CAUSES  US  TO  GROW  IN  GRACE. 

Who  knows  human  nature  as  well  as  He 
who  created  it  ?  and  who  regards  our  infirmities 
with  such  fatherly  pity,  and  bears  so  patiently 
with  our  slow  and  unbelieving  hearts,  as  the 
Lord  our  God  ?  He  is  our  all-wise  and  all- 
merciful  teacher.  The  growth  and  guidance 
of  our  spiritual  life  is  altogether  in  His  hands. 
All  things  are  His;  the  world  around  us,  and 
the  daily  events  and  circumstances  of  our  earthly 
life,  are  under  the  same  government  as  the 
spiritual  and  inward  influences  of  grace  in  our 
hearts.  The  Holy  Ghost  within  teaches,  re- 
bukes, comforts,  strengthens  ;  and  nature  and 
providence  are  concurrent  teachers  without. 
We  may  often  wonder  what  passages  of  Scrip- 
ture we  ought  to  read,  and  on  what  subjects  of 
divine  truth  we  ought  to  ponder.  But  the  page 
of  nature  and  of  providence  is  opened  for  us 


•N 


Communion  with  God  in  Daily  Life.     209 

by  a  higher  hand.  Let  us  be  docile  and 
childlike,  and  give  our  whole  mind  to  the 
divinely-chosen  lesson.  Keep  your  eyes  and 
hearts  open.  The  face  of  nature,  the  ordinary 
events  of  the  day,  the  remark  of  a  friend,  the 
countenance  of  a  passing  child — all  are  used  by 
the  heavenly  Teacher  to  speak  to  us,  and  to 
mould  our  minds  and  characters.  And  as  God 
rules  without,  so  also  He  alone  understands 
our  souls,  and  governs  within.  Sunshine  and 
rain,  calm  and  wind,  seasons  of  quiescence  and 
rapid  development,  work  in  the  inner  world, 
as  well  as  in  the  outer,  under  the  omniscient 
and  omnipotent  direction  of  divine  love.  In 
the  spiritual  life  also  we  must  learn  not  to  be 
over-anxious,  not  to  please  ourselves,  and  not 
to  substitute  human  inventions  and  expedients 
for  heavenly  influences.  As  the  Lord  said  of 
the  lilies,  "They  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin: 
yet  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed 
like  one  of  these,"  so  may  we  say  to  the  Chris- 
tian who  is  rooted  in  Christ,  It  is  for  you 
only  to  grow,  and  growth  is  from  within.  God 
alone  rules  in  this  mysterious  sphere;  and  how- 
ever thankful  we  must  feel  to  good  teachers 
and  books,  we  must  be  carefully  on  our  guard 
against  allowing  any  one  to  interfere  with  our 
spiritual  development.      If  we  abide  in  Christ, 

p 


2IO     Communion  with  God  in  Daily  Life. 

we  grow.  The  ministry  of  pastors  and  teachers 
is  divinely  appointed,  necessary  and  useful. 
But  there  is  a  morbid  desire,  not  confined  to 
any  church,  for  father  confessors,  for  human 
direction  in  the  path  and  conflict  of  the  Chris- 
tian life.  When  we  feel  the  need  of  human 
sympathy  and  counsel  in  our  most  secret  soul- 
life,  have  we  not  the  Psalms  of  David  and 
the  Epistles  of  Paul  '^.  Can  we  ever  be  lonely 
with  them  ? 

We  cannot  always  sit  at  the  Lord's  table 
receiving  impressions  of  divine  truth  and  favour. 
The  enjoyment  of  food  is  only  for  a  short  time, 
while  we  are  eating ;  in  the  strength  of  our 
daily  bread  we  go  on  for  hours,  and  fulfil  our 
work.  So  God  gives  us,  from  time  to  time,  the 
enjoyment  of  spiritual  food  ;  but  we  are  not 
always  to  enjoy  the  fat  and  marrow  ;  but  having 
obtained  renewal  of  grace  and  peace,  we  are  to 
go  to  our  daily  work.  Glimpses  into  the  higher 
sanctuary  are  vouchsafed  to  cheer  and  help  us 
on  our  way.  "  Often  a  man  in  the  multitude 
and  pressure  of  his  avocations  exercises  a  more 
God-pleasing  humility  and  real  waiting  upon 
God  than  in  highly-favoured  moments  of  ele- 
vated devotion."^ 

We  need  these  seasons  of  special  prayer  and 

^  Bengel. 


Co7itmiinion  with  God  in  Daily  Life.     211 

meditation,  these  feasts  of  communion  and  joy, 
these  moments  when  we  taste  of  the  powers  cf 
the  world  to  come.  No  Christian  Hfe  can  be 
sustained  without  them.  The  more  frequent 
they  are  in  our  hves  the  better.  Such  spiritual 
impressions  through  the  reading"  of  God's  word, 
in  prayer,  in  the  affection  and  Christian  en- 
couragement and  hope  of  a  brother,  are  like 
refreshing  breezes,  like  the  rain  and  dew,  which 
descend  from  heaven  ;  they  are  even  more  im- 
portant, they  form  a  capital  of  strength  which 
stands  to  us  even  without  our  beinof  conscious 
of  it.  The  Lord's  day,  the  Lord's  supper,  the 
prayer  meeting,  the  fellowship  with  Christ's 
people,  the  missionary  news,  and  especially 
meditation  on  Scripture,  and  the  experience  of 
the  Church  as  expressed  in  hymns,  are  the 
channels  of  such  influence.  Let  us  highly  value 
them.  Young  Christians  should  not  have  long 
intervals  between  meals. 

Wait  then  on  God's  guidance.  Seek  to  be 
replenished  and  refreshed.  Be  quiet  and  trustful. 
"  So  is  the  kingdom  of  God,  as  if  a  man  should 
cast  seed  into  the  ground  ;  and  should  sleep,  and 
rise  night  and  day,  and  the  seed  should  spring 
and  g7^ow  tip,  he  knoweth  not  how.  For  the  earth 
bringeth  forth  fruit  of  herself;  first  the  blade, 
then  the  ear,  after  that  the  full  corn  in  the  ear." 


212     Coin7nunio7i  with  God  in  Daily  Life. 

II.   ALTERNATIONS  OF  PROSPERITY  AND  ADVERSITY. 

God  draws  nigh  in  providence.  If  He  gives 
you  prosperity,  rejoice  and  sing  psalms  ;  if  He 
sends  sorrow,  learn  again  to  pray.  Let  us  not 
merely  call  a  bad  harvest,  or  illness,  or  loss 
of  wealth,  a  visitation  of  God  ;  no  doubt  God 
draws  ni^h  in  those  chastenino-s  ;  but  let  us  call 
a  eood  harvest  and  health  and  success  in  our 
work  a  visitation  of  God,  to  deepen  our  grati- 
tude, and  to  encourage  us  in  the  ministry  of 
love  and  in  faithful  stewardship  of  His  gifts. 
But  all  unusual  conditions  of  the  mind,  joy  or 
grief,  are  dangerous,  unless  God  is  sought  in 
them.  To  be  kept  in  humility,  in  heavenly- 
mindedness,  and  in  love  to  the  brethren,  when 
we  are  prosperous,  requires  grace  ;  to  be  patient, 
trustful,  hopeful,  in  adversity,  requires  grace. 
But  God's  purpose  in  sending  prosperity  or 
sorrow  is  not  fulfilled  if  we  merely  avoid  their 
dangers:  God  intends  that  we  should  derive 
positive  benefit  from  His  dealings.  As  to 
affliction,  this  is  more  obvious.  It  yieldeth 
afterwards  the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteous- 
ness to  them  that  are  exercised  therein.  "After- 
wards." For,  like  the  benefits  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  we  may  say,  the  benefits  of  afl^iction  are 
not  confined  to  the  actual  time  of  our  partaking 


Communion  with  God  in  Daily  Life.     213 

of  them.  "  Afterwards  "  extends  to  our  whole 
subsequent  life  ;  nay,  to  eternity. 

But  God  has  also  great  purposes  in  sending 
earthly  prosperity,  providential  blessings,  family 
sunshine.  He  then  draws  nigh  to  you.  We 
are  commanded  to  rejoice  with  them  that  do 
rejoice.  Hence  it  is  right  and  pleasing  to  God 
to  rejoice.  Joy  ought  to  be  a  good,  holy, 
heavenward-drawing  thing.  Dear  friend,  when 
God  sends  you  the  desire  of  your  heart  and 
prospers  you,  may  He  give  you  a  deep  sense 
of  your  unworthiness,  and  a  joyous  assurance 
of  His  fatherly  love.  Treasure  up  every  im- 
pression of  gratitude,  and  every  feeling  of 
praise.  Let  the  sunshine  call  forth  abundant 
thanksgiving.  Take  deep  views  of  the  love  of 
God,  whose  joy  it  is  to  give.  Learn  to  anticipate 
the  cloudless  and  unspeakable  felicity  of  heaven. 
Let  all  the  goodness  of  God  lead  you  to  see  the 
beauty  of  the  Lord.  As  David,  after  God  had 
given  him  the  wonderful  promise,  sat  down 
before  the  Lord  in  silent  thanksgiving  and 
adoration,^  so  look  upon  all  the  things  which 
God  giveth  you  richly  to  enjoy  as  covenant 
ofifts  zuitJi  Christ. 

Now  it  is  for  you  also  to  give  and  to  bless. 
Be  enlarged  in  your  affections,  sympathies,  and 

5  I  Chronicles  xvii.  i6. 


2  14     Commtinion  with  God  in  Daily  Life. 

energies.  In  the  strength  of  gratitude  and  love, 
devise  Hberal  things.  Try  to  serve  the  Church, 
and  to  do  good  unto  all  men. 

III.    DAILY   WORK   AND   RECREATION. 

There  is  a  legend  of  a  monk,  to  whom  in 
his  chamber  the  Lord  vouchsafed  to  appear  in 
a  vision.  The  vision  of  Christ  brought  great 
peace  and  joy  to  his  heart.  Scarcely  had  he 
been  thus  favoured  for  a  few  moments,  when 
the  bell  was  heard,  which  summoned  him  to 
the  duty  of  distributing  loaves  of  bread  to  the 
poor.  For  a  moment  he  hesitated  ;  but  he  went 
to  his  work.  Oh,  what  a  sacrifice  to  leave  this 
glorious  vision  for  the  dull  routine  of  duty ! 
But  when  he  returned  to  his  cell,  what  was  his 
surprise  and  joy  to  find  the  vision  of  the  Lord 
as  before. 

It  is  only  sin,  not  work,  which  separates  us 
from  Christ.  To  be  faithful  in  little,  to  be 
faithful  in  the  perishable  things  of  this  world, 
is  a  great  thing  in  the  eyes  of  our  Lord.  It 
does  not  matter  in  what  material  wc  work, 
whether  it  be  mean  or  cosdy.  "  Do  all  things," 
saith  the  apostle  to  servants,  and  to  us  all, 
"  heartily,  as  unto  the  Lord."  The  most  com- 
mon and  trivial  work  is  to  be  connected  with 
the  deepest.     Take  an  interest  in  it ;  do  it  with 


Comm2inio7i  with  God  in  Daily  Life.     215 

all  your  ability,  from  the  deepest  motive,  and 
with  the  highest  aim  ;  do  it  to  please  the  Lord  ; 
He  will  bless  you  in  the  labour,  and  He  will 
reward  you  for  the  work. 

Contact  with  the  difficulties  and  weariness  of 
work,  and  with  the  trials  of  our  temper  and 
patience,  with  the  world's  injustice  or  hardness 
— contact  with  all  this  often  shows  us  how  weak 
we  still  are  ;  how  irritable  and  self-willed  ;  how 
little  inclined  to  suffer  wrong-,  or  to  do  what  is 
right  without  being  acknowledged  and  praised  ; 
how  covetousness,  which  is  idolatry,  is  not  yet 
uprooted.  In  all  this  God  holds  up  a  mirror 
before  you,  that  you  may  go  to  the  fountain  of 
cleansing.  We  often  fancy  that  we  have  reached 
a  high  level  of  Christian  character,  because  we 
see  it  clearly  and  approve  of  it  fervently.  Actual 
life  tests  us,  and  teaches  us  a  more  truthful, 
though  less  pleasing,  estimate  of  our  condition. 

Glorify  God  by  carrying  truthfulness  and 
love,  faithfulness  and  honour,  unto  all  things. 
We  are  to  live  the  gospel,  and  to  adorn  it,  not 
merely  to  preach  and  to  extol  it.  Men  cannot 
see  our  hearts,  but  they  can  see  our  good  works  ; 
and  if  the  works  are  fruit  of  the  Spirit,  they  will 
be  lumi7ions,  pointing  to  the  Father  in  heaven. 

If  the  love  of  God  or  faith  is  to  pervade  our 
whole  life,  and  to  enter  into  all  our  thoughts 


2i6     Communion  with  God  in  Daily  Life. 

and  actions,  how  necessary  that  itself  should  be 
kept  strong  and  pure  ! 

The  larger  the  building  is  that  is  be  lit  up  in 
every  part,  or  to  be  warmed  uniformly,  the 
more  you  require  a  strong  central  source  of  light 
and  heat.  If  we  therefore  speak  about  religion 
in  common  life,  as  you  expand  the  "  common 
life"  you  must  intensify  the  "religion."  You 
wish  to  enrich  and  enlarge  life,  your  business, 
your  social  enjoyments,  your  knowledge  of 
literature,  science  and  art.  I  say  nothing  to 
discourage  or  dissuade  you  ;  ^  but  I  appeal  to 
your  own  common  sense  when  I  say.  Then  you 
must  deepen  your  knowledge  of  God  and  your 
love  to  Jesus ;  you  must  meditate  and  pray 
more  frequently ;  you  must  increase  the  motive 
power.  Keep  the  heart  with  all  diligence  ;  keep 
it  pure,  unspotted  from  the  world  ;  keep  it  full ; 
be  filled  with  the  Spirit,  with  love  to  God  and 
man,  with  joy  and  gratitude,  with  heavenward 

*  In  an  essay  on  "  Poetry  and  Christianity,"  Harless  points 
out  clearly,  that  poetry  which  refers  to  "  worldly  things  "  is  not 
necessarily  poetry  of  the  unholy  and  ungodly  spirit  of  the  world. 
He  recommends  Christians  to  study  and  to  enjoy  thankfully  the 
gifts  of  the  poet,  and  quotes  the  words  of  an  earnest  theologian 
of  the  pietistic  school :  "  They  who  are  always  busy  with  sacred 
subjects  get  at  last  accustomed  to  them,  and  none  are  in  greater 
danger  of  hypocrisy  than  ministers;"  or  we  may  add,  what  are 
usually  termed  decided  Christians.  A  pious  man  need  not  be 
narrow,  as,  alas !  the  narrow  man  is  not  always  pious. 


Communion  zvith  God  in  Daily  Life.     2 1 7 

longings  and  with  God -glorifying  aims  ;  keep 
it  strong  in  ardent  love  and  constant  prayer, 
receiving  strength  by  waiting  on  the  Lord. 
This  is  the  apostolic  exhortation  :  "  Not  slothful 
in  business  ;  fervent  in  spirit;  serving  the  Lord." 
How  forcible  is  the  exhortation  of  an  eminent 
teacher  of  the  church  :  "  Lo,  my  brother,  if  thou 
wouldst  seek  out  the  still  Jiour,  only  a  single 
one  every  day ;  and  if  thou  wouldst  meditate 
on  the  love  which  called  thee  into  being,  which 
hath  overshadowed  thee  all  the  days  of  thy  life 
with  blessing,  or  else  by  mournful  experiences 
hath  admonished  and  corrected  thee,  this  would 
be  to  draw  near  to  thy  God.  Thus  wouldst  thou 
take  Him  by  the  hand.  Bat  whenever  in  cease- 
less dissipation  of  heart  thou  goest  astray,  the 
sea  of  the  divine  blessing  shall  surround  thee 
on  all  sides,  and  yet  thy  soul  shall  be  athirst. 
Wilt  thou  draw  near  to  God  ?  .  .  .  Then  seek 
the  still  Jiouri' 

Take  heed  to  your  recreation.  We  need 
recreation.  A  story  is  told  of  the  evangelist 
John.  A  stranger  went  to  see  him,  and  to  his 
astonishment  found  him  playing  with  a  pet 
bird.  "  The  bow  that  is  always  strung,"  he 
said,  "  loses  its  strength."  But  what  is  re- 
creation, and  what  is  recreation  suitable  to  a 

7  Tholuck. 


2i8     Communion  with  God  in  Daily  Life. 

Christian  ?  Here  no  rule  can  be  given,  but 
principles.  And  even  principles  are  of  little 
use,  unless  you  seek  the  personal  guidance  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  Only  remember  to  do  all 
things  with  a  clear  mind  ;  for  whatever  is  not 
of  faith  (though  in  itself  lawful)  is  sin.  What- 
ever God  has  forbidden,  whatever  interferes 
with  our  spiritual  life  and  with  our  daily  work, 
whatever  hinders  our  own  growth  and  our  use- 
fulness  in  the  world,  let  us  willingly  give  up  ; 
it  would  not  profit  us,  or  send  us  back  with 
greater  elasticity  and  vigour  to  our  ordinary 
path. 

Even  the  wisdom  of  the  world  has  found  out 
that  life  would  be  very  pleasant  were  it  not  for 
its  pleasures,  and  that  they  who  most  seek 
pleasure  least  find  it.  The  search  for  pleasure 
and  amusement  seems  to  be  a  characteristic  of 
the  present  day.  A  man  of  deep  thought  and 
of  a  most  genial  and  loving  spirit  observes  :  ^ 
"  The  present  generation  is  not  willing  to 
undertake  anything  without  utilising  it  for  the 
purpose  of  pleasure.  None  is  willing  to  work 
quietly  and  contentedly  in  the  sweat  of  his 
brow,  and  without  assumption  ;  fetes  and  holi- 
days are  always  required.  This  must  use  up, 
more  or  less,   the    marrow  of  life.     And  how 

^  ROTHE,  Eihik. 


Communion  with  God  in  Daily  Life.     219 

little  true  enjoyment  is  in  all  this !  How  much 
suffering,  even  bitter  suffering-,  is  in  what  is 
called  life -enjoyment.  Truly,  one  need  not 
seek  pleasure.  If  our  inward  sense  is  open  to 
pure  joy,  it  meets  us  everywhere  on  our  path  ; 
and  we  are  astonished  how  people  ever  came 
to  the  thought  of  purposely  seeking  pleasure."^ 

9  The  following  remarks  on  social  life  are  translated  from  a 
sermon  (on  John  iv.)  of  Schleiermacher,  whom  none  can  accuse 
of  narrowness  of  views  or  sympathies.  They  seem  to  me  as 
important  and  wide  in  their  application  as  they  are  beautiful  : 
"  How  much  of  our  time  do  we  devote  to  social  intercourse  of 
various  kinds.  There  are  not  many  among  us  who  confine 
themselves  to  such  a  small  circle  of  closely-united  men,  among 
whom  no  special  occasion  and  reason  is  needed  to  speak  also 
about  the  highest  interests  of  life,  but  who  consider  them  as  a 
topic  of  conversation  ;  but  in  those  larger  circles,  to  which  we 
all  belong,  more  or  less,  in  which  there  is  neither  the  intimacy 
of  friendship,  nor  the  entire  strangeness  which  subsisted  between 
the  Lord  and  the  woman  of  Samaria,  how  much  and  how  long 
do  we  dwell  on  trifles,  on  isolated  and  unimportant  occurrences ! 
and  when  we  touch  on  personal  matters,  which  concern  not 
merely  the  absent,  how  rarely  is  it  done  in  such  a  way  that  a 
salutary  train  of  thoughts  is  called  forth,  and  that  the  heart  is 
influenced,  to  connect  the  unimportant  with  what  is  truly  great ! 
How  rarely  does  anything  permanently  good  result  from  those 
social  meetings,  even  when  they  achieve  their  design  of  cheer- 
ing our  earthly  path,  and  dissipating  the  anxieties  of  life  !  1  do 
not  require  that  graceful  cheerfulness,  and  exhilarating  play 
of  thought  and  conversation  should  be  banished,  and  that  we 
should  always  endeavour  to  look  into  the  secrets  of  the  heart, 
and  to  speak  of  eternal  and  divine  things.  No  ;  but  can  and 
ought  there  to  be  a  moment  in  the  Christian's  mind,  in  which  it 
is  not  his  desire  to  contribute  to  the  inner  life  of  those  with 


2  20     Communion  with  God  in  Daily  Life. 

The  Christian  is  afraid  of  everything  which 
disturbs  his  concentration  of  purpose  and  which 
blunts  his  spiritual  perception  and  enjoyment. 
Our  great  difficulty  is,  not  to  lapse  into  that 
mediocrity  and  lukewarmness  which  in  a  Chris- 
tian world  characterise  the  worldly  Christian. 
This  danger  is  always  greater  in  times  of  peace, 
when  we  are  without  the  bracinor  north  wind  of 
persecution  ;  and  in  times  of  quiet,  when  we  are 
without  the  south  wind  of  special  revival.     We 

whom  he  meets  even  in  this  larger  circle — to  contribute  to  it 
out  of  that  life  which  dwells  in  him  in  glorious  and  vigorous 
fulness  ?  And  this  desire,  which  is  the  mark  of  true  Christian 
love,  ought  it  not  to  run  as  a  golden  thread  even  through  our 
harmless  relaxation  and  mirth,  and  be  able  to  find  the  suitable 
and  favourable  moment,  as  our  Saviour  did,  to  lead  our  social 
conversation  from  trifles  unto  the  great  subject?  We  leave  an 
innocent  and  pleasant  circle,  and  feel  more  animated  and 
cheerful  ;  but  this  feeling  may  be  true  or  not.  If  there 
has  been  nothing  truly  important  and  great,  the  conversation 
which  has  amused  and  interested  us  by  its  brilliancy  and 
humour,  leaves  nothing  behind  to  strengthen  us  when  we  return 
to  the  cares,  the  duties,  and  the  fatiguing  troubles  of  life.  But 
if  such  social  intercourse  has  given  us  a  deeper  feeling  or  more 
correct  understanding  of  some  truth  of  eternal  importance,  if 
it  has  afforded  us  a  new  insight  into  some  department  of  the 
spiritual  life,  or  gladdened  us  by  the  discovery  of  beautiful  and 
noble  aspirations  of  some  kindred  soul  who  is  interested  in  the 
same  great  purpose,  then  we  carry  away  an  enriched  feeling  of 
life  into  the  hours  of  labour  and  toil.  There  is  stirred  within 
us  a  high  energy,  which  brings  to  us  protracted  blessing. 
Something  out  of  the  stream  of  living  water  has  flowed  into 
our  soul,  and  we  are  strengthened  for  the  next  moments  of 
anxiety  and  work. 


Communion  with  God  in  Daily  Life.     221 

are  then  apt  to  lose  the  tension  and  fervour  of 
our  first  love. 

If  we  wish  to  use  this  world  as  not  abusing 
it,  to  enjoy  all  things  which  God  gives  us  richly, 
and  yet  to  rejoice  supremely  and  constantly  in 
Him,  we  must  go  to  the  very  root  of  things, 
and  take  heed  to  ourselves.  The  Scripture 
gives  no  minute  regulations,  but  to  a  sincere 
Christian  sufficient  guidance.  It  may  some- 
times be  duty  and  true  Christian  kindness  to 
enter  into  the  social  life  of  those  who  as  yet 
are  not  spiritually  congenial  with  you.  If  we 
go  in  the  right  spirit,  and  with  the  true  heart, 
God  will  help  us  both  to  derive  no  injury  and 
to  confer  some  blessing.  We  may  sometimes 
be  with  Christians,  the  conversation  apparently 
about  God's  word  or  kingdom,  and  yet  there 
may  be  no  real  ozone  in  the  atmosphere,  no 
converse  of  heart  with  heart,  no  nourishment, 
and  no  refreshment.  On  the  other  hand,  there 
may  have  been  no  "  religious  conversation," 
and  yet  the  animating  and  restful  influence  of 
affection,  friendship,  and  the  contact  of  minds 
livinor  in  the  fear  and  lio^ht  of  God. 

This  is  a  large  subject,  and  yet  one  on  which 
each  one  must  find  for  himself  what  is  right, 
safe,  and  profitable.  Only  let  us  be  sincere, 
and  avoid  all  Pharisaism.     The  next  best  thinof 


2  22     Communion  with  God  in  Daily  Life. 

to  grace  is  nature.  Only  let  us  be  heavenly- 
minded,  and  avoid  worldliness.  For  the  time 
is  shortened  ;  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  blessed 
be  God,  draweth  nigh  :  "  it  remaineth,  that  both 
they  that  have  wives  be  as  though  they  had 
none  ;  and  they  that  weep,  as  though  they  wept 
not ;  and  they  that  rejoice,  as  though  they  re- 
joiced not ;  and  they  that  buy,  as  though  they 
possessed  not ;  and  they  that  use  this  world,  as 
not  abusing  it ;  for  the  fashion  of  this  world 
passeth  away." 

It  is  narrated  of  Diogenes,  that  when  Alex- 
ander the  Great  asked  him  to  request  a  favour, 
the  only  thing  that  poor  man  wished  of  the 
conqueror  of  the  world  was,  not  Xo  stand 
between  him  and  the  sun,  whose  genial  light 
and  warmth  he  was  enjoying.  If  Diogenes 
stands  for  the  Christian,  Alexander  for  the 
world,  and  the  sun  for  Him  who  is  the  light 
and  joy  of  His  people,  we  may  look  upon  this 
story  as  an  allegory :  all  that  the  Christian 
really  wishes  is,  that  the  world  should  not 
obstruct  and  intercept  the  rays  of  happiness 
which  come  to  him  from  the  heavenly  sanc- 
tuary. 

If  we  are  anxious  always  to  look  first  to 
God,  and  to  place  Him  between  us  and  our 
circumstances,  and  the  people  we  have  to  deal 


Commimion  with  God  in  Daily  Life.     223 

with,  then  we  shall  be  able  to  exercise  love  and 
patience,  and  to  be  calm  and  peaceful  at  all 
times.  We  have  to  deal  with  God  on  the  one 
hand,  and  with  our  fellow-men  and  circumstances 
on  the  other.  Now  the  great  point  is,  how  we 
place  ourselves.  If  we  allow  people  and  cir- 
cumstances to  come  between  us  and  God,  then 
the  smallest  provocation,  disappointment,  and 
difficulty  may  obstruct  to  us  the  light  of  heaven, 
and  intercept  the  supply  of  grace  and  strength. 
But  if  we  place  God  between  us  and  the  men 
we  have  to  deal  with,  and  the  work  we  have  to 
do,  we  shall  walk  in  light  and  in  love  ;  for  God 
is  light  and  love,  a  translucent  and  strength- 
ening medium.  Look  first  at  Him,  and  then 
at  men  and  things.  Have  you  met  with  trial  ? 
do  not  look  first  at  the  trial,  and  then  at  God, 
with  the  question  :  Does  God,  who  allows  this 
sorrow,  love  me  ?  Look  first  at  God,  and  with 
the  renewed  assurance  of  God's  love,  look  at 
the  trial,  and  say,  God  chastens  whom  He  loves. 
When  the  servant,  to  whom  his  master  had 
forgiven  a  great  debt,  met  his  fellow-servant 
who  owed  him  money,  he  forgot  the  mercy  he 
had  experienced  ;  but  if  the  kind  and  merciful 
countenance  of  his  benefactor  had  stood  before 
him,  between  him  and  his  debtor,  could  he 
have   acted    with   such   severity  and   cruelty  ? 


2  24     Coinmimion  zvitJi   God  in  Daily  Life. 

If  we  looked  at  all  men  throus^h  the  medium 
of  Christ  crucified,  we  should  possess  that  love 
which  in  all  things  endureth  and  hopeth  ;  we 
should  treat  all  with  patience  and  meekness. 
If  we  looked  throuo-h  Christ  our  streno^th  at 
all  duties  and  trials,  we  should  be  able  to  say, 
"  I  can  do  all  things  through  Christ  which 
strengtheneth  me."  When  Shimei  cursed  David, 
David  remembered  that  it  was  God  who  per- 
mitted this  trial.  Before  his  feelings  settled  on 
Shimei,  they  rested  on  God,  and  humbled  them- 
selves before  Him.  Place  then  Christ  as  the 
medium  of  light  and  love  and  strength  between 
you  and  all  men  and  all  things.  Remember, 
God's  will  is  our  sanctification.  "  We  are 
opposing  God's  method  of  working  if  our  life 
has  a  tendency  to  incapacitate  us  for  the  enjoy- 
ment of  prayer  at  all  times.  If  by  needless 
excess  of  worldly  cares- — ^if  by  inordinate  de- 
sires, which  render  it  impossible  for  us  to  accom- 
plish our  objects  in  life  luitJioiit  such  excess  of 
care^ — if  by  frivolous  habits — if  by  the  reading 
of  infidel  or  effeminate  literature  ■ —  if  by  an 
indolent  life — if  by  any  self-indulgence  in  phy- 
sical reo^imen — we  render  the  habit  of  fraor- 
mentary  prayer  impracticable  or  unnatural  to 
us,  zue  are  crossing  the  methods  of  God's  working. 
Something  has  gone  wrong,  is  going  wrong,  in 


Com7minio7i  with  God  in  Daily  Life.     225 

the  life  of  that  Christian  who  finds  himself  thus 
estrang-ed  from  filial  freedom  with  God."  ^ 

Start  daily  and  often  with  the  joy  of  God's 
salvation,  and  end  always  with  the  praise  of 
God.  Begin  with  the  gospel,  the  glad  tidino-s 
of  God's  love  in  Christ.  Say  to  yourself.  He 
first  loved  me.  I  have  obtained  mercy.  God 
has  given  me  Christ.  Let  your  heart  be  first 
established  by  grace.  Rejoice  in  the  Lord.  Do 
not  think  of  giving  unto  God  until  you  have 
received  from  Him.  And  let  no  sense  of  your 
unworthiness  prevent  your  taking  hold  of  the 
boundless  and  all-sufficient  grace  of  God.  A 
sense  of  divine  love  will  keep  you  more  humble, 
more  loving,  more  active  and  fervent  in  service 
than  anything  else.  This  is  the  only  startino-- 
point  of  Christian  life — the  assurance  of  God's 
love  through  faith  in  Christ.  And  therefore,  to 
those  who  have  not  yet  come  to  God  through 
Christ,  the  only  practical  message  is,  Repent  and 
believe.  You  cannot  carry  religion  into  daily 
life  till  you  first  have  it  in  your  heart ;  and  you 
cannot  have  it  in  your  heart  till  you  come  to 
Jesus  the  Saviour.  Starting  with  the  joy  of 
God's  salvation,  let  our  end  always  be  praise. 
Thanks  be  to  God  for  His  unspeakable  o-ift. 
Blessed  be  God,  who  hath  called  us  unto  im- 

'  Phelps. 

Q 


2  26     Communion  with  God  ifi  Daily  Life. 

mortality  and  glory.  Faithful  is  He  who  hath 
called  us,  who  also  will  perform  it.  As  with 
thanksgiving  we  are  to  make  our  requests 
known  unto  God,  so  thanksgiving  is  to  be  the 
prevailing  and  the  ultimate  note  of  our  life. 
At  last  all  our  thoughts  and  petitions  will  end 
in  praise.  For  God  will  perfect  that  which 
concerneth  us.^  We  shall  yet  more  than  ever 
praise  Him,  and  only  praise  Him.  "  Awake, 
psaltery  and  harp:  I  myself  will  awake  early." 
After  I  have  remembered  all  His  benefits  and 
promises,  I  will  forget  even  them  in  the  con- 
templation of  Himself,  and  say  to  my  soul : 
"  Bless  the  Lord  ;  my  soul  doth  magnify  the 
Lord,  and  my  spirit  hath  rejoiced  in  God  my 
Saviour." 

See,  every  veil  is  removed.  There  is  the 
veil  of  Moses ;  for  Israel  could  not  behold  sted- 
fastly  the  face  of  Moses  for  the  glory  of  his 
countenance.  There  is  also  the  veil  upon  the 
heart  which  has  turned  from  God  in  unbelief. 
There  is  the  veil  of  creaturely  distance,  for  the 
seraphim  veil  their  faces  before  the  glory  of 
Christ,  the  great  Jehovah.  But  we  all,  who  by 
the  Holy  Ghost  through  Jesus  draw  nigh,  we 
all,  weak  and  strong,  babes  in  Christ  as  well 
as  experienced  soldiers  who  endure  hardness, 

^  Psalm  cxxxviii.  8. 


Communion  with  God  in  Daily  Life.     227 

and  fathers  who  have  known  Him,  that  is  from 
the  beginning,  we  all  with  open  face  behold 
the  glory  of  the  Lord,  we  see  the  glory  of  God, 
the  image  of  the  Invisible,  the  beauty  of  the 
Lord ;  in  the  mirror  of  the  gospel  we  see 
Immanuel,  Christ,  who  is  God  above  all,  and 
yet  our  Brother.  Thus  beholding,  thus  adoring, 
are  we  changed  into  the  same  image  from  glory 
to  glory,  even  as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord.  ^ 

"  Draw  nigh  to  God,  and  He  will  draw  nigh 
to  you." 

3  2  Cor.  iii.  15-18. 


r 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE    INDWELLING    OF    GOD    BY    LOVE  AND    BY 
THE.  HOLY   GHOST. 

I.    UNION   WITH   CHRIST   (UNIO   MYSTICA). 

nPHE  teaching  of  Scripture  on  the  union  of 
-"-  Christ  and  believers  belongs  to  the  highest 
and  most  precious  disclosures  of  revelation.  It 
is,  as  it  were,  the  most  holy  place  of  the  sanc- 
tuary. All  manifestations  of  divine  grace  pre- 
pare our  minds  and  hearts  for  the  reception 
of  this  mystery.  Before  the  advent  it  was 
symbolised  and  promised  that  God  will  dwell 
in  us,  and  we  in  Him.  Israel,  as  a  nation, 
failed  in  realizing  the  high  idea  of  God's  love  ; 
but  as  Israel's  failure  became  more  evident  the 
promise  of  the  Messiah  became  more  distinct ; 
of  the  servant  of  God,  in  whom  the  Spirit 
dwells  in  sevenfold  plenitude,  and  through 
whom  there  would  be  at  last  granted  unto 
Israel  the  presence  and  glory  of  Jehovah  among 
them,  and  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
their  renewed  hearts. 


The  Indiuelling  of  God  by  Love.       229 

Yet  this  was  in  the  future,  though  many- 
godly  and  specially -favoured  Israelites  had  a 
deep  and  strong  realization  of  present  com- 
munion with  God,  and  wonderful  anticipations 
of  a  still  closer  union.  For  such  expressions  as 
"  The  Lord  is  my  light  and  salvation,"  "  The 
Lord  is  our  refuge  and  strength,"  "  The  Lord 
our  righteousness,"  are  evidently  the  language 
of  an  experience  high  above  that  which  only 
knows  that  God  gives  protection  and  strength, 
that  He  sends  light  into  our  hearts,  and  clothes 
us  with  righteousness.  How  much  must  these 
men  have  known  of  the  mysterious  indwelling 
of  God  in  us,  to  which  all  our  good  thoughts 
and  works  are  to  be  traced,  and  of  our  indwell- 
ing in  God,  who  alone  is  our  salvation !  And 
what  further  prophetic  insight  was  given  them 
of  the  still  brighter  and  yet  nearer  approach  of 
God  in  the  promised  One  may  be  inferred  from 
such  passages  as  the  forty-fifth  Psalm,  which 
speaks  of  the  marriage  of  Him  who  is  fairer 
than  the  sons  of  men,  and  into  whose  lips  grace 
is  poured,  with  Israel,  the  bride,  who  stands  at 
His  right  hand  in  gold  of  Ophir.  Yet  is  this 
royal  Bridegroom  spoken  of  as  God,  whose 
throne  is  for  ever  and  ever.  This  psalm  is  the 
bud,  out  of  which  has  flowered  forth  the  song 
of  songs.     The  Beloved  who  is  here  spoken  of 


230       The  Indwelling  of  God  by  Love 

is  none  other  than  God  incarnate.  In  no  other 
book  of  Scripture,  except  in  the  book  of  Reve- 
lation entrusted  to  the  disciple  whom  Jesus 
loved,  have  we  a  description  of  the  beauty, 
grace,  and  strength  of  the  Son  of  God  in  His 
perfect  humanity.  The  Spirit  who  was  in  holy 
men  of  old  testified  within  them  of  the  glory  of 
Jehovah,  the  heavenly  Bridegroom. 

Let  us  not  forget,  however,  that  before  the 
day  of  Pentecost  Israel,  even  including  John 
the  Baptist,  did  not  see  the  "  mystery "  of  the 
Church  as  it  is  now  revealed.  The  union  of 
Christ  and  the  Church  is  the  mystery  of  our 
dispensation,  prepared  in  the  gospels,  and  es- 
pecially in  that  of  John,  who  dwells  so  fully  on 
the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  the  indwell- 
ing of  the  Father  and  the  Son  by  the  Spirit  in 
our  hearts,  but  fully  announced  in  the  epistle  of 
Paul  to  the  Ephesians.  While  it  was  given  to 
the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles  in  harmony  with  the 
peculiar  character  of  his  conversion  and  mission 
to  unfold  this  mystery,  it  was  the  object  of  the 
Joannean  epistle  to  dwell  on  the  spiritual  and 
ethical  aspects  of  the  New  Testament  Church. 

The  Scripture  in  teaching,  or  rather  making 
known  and  unveiling  mysteries,  leads  us  to 
heights  which  are  far  beyond  our  vision,  and  yet 
it  does  not  dazzle  our  eyes  with  light,  which  only 


a7id  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  231 

confuses  ;  nor  does  it  puff  up  our  minds  with 
speculative  knowledge,  which  leaves  the  heart 
cold  and  the  daily  life  untouched.  Clearly  and 
definitely  is  this  supernatural  union  with  Christ 
taught,  and  yet  we  exclaim,  Great  is  the 
mystery !  And  as  there  is  no  vagueness, 
though  the  well  is  deep,  so  is  there  no  cold 
and  barren  abstraction.  The  apostle  connects 
with  this  mystery  the  most  lowly  exhortations, 
such  as  lie  not  one  to  another,  for  you  are 
members  of  the  one  body ;  such  as  the  warn- 
ing against  impurity,  for  our  members  are  the 
members  of  Christ.  Here  are  also  the  sweetest 
consolation  and  brightest  hopes  of  the  Christian. 
The  Head  is  in  glory,  and  will  He  leave  us 
behind?  The  last  Adam,  who  loved  the  Church 
and  gave  Himself  for  it,  loves  and  cherishes  us 
as  His  own  body,  and  after  our  earthly  dis- 
cipline will  present  us  to  Himself  a  glorious 
church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such 
thing. 

Illustrations  from  every  sphere  are  used  to 
describe  to  us  the  reality  and  the  vital  character 
of  this  union.  As  the  building  rests  on  the 
sure  foundation,  so  the  Church  is  built  on  the 
Rock.  Believers  are  lively  stones,  who  by 
faith  are  resting  on  Christ,  and  in  whom  God 
has  His  habitation  through  the  Spirit.     As  the 


232       The  Indwelling  of  God  by  Love. 

vine  gives  vitality  and  fruit-bearing  strength  to 
the  branches,  so  Christ  is  the  indwelHng  Hfe, 
and  the  resurrection -power  of  all  who  are 
grafted  into  Him.  As  Eve,  or  the  woman,  is 
beloved  and  cherished  by  Adam,  out  of  whom 
she  was  originally  taken,  so  that  they  twain 
are  one  flesh,  so  is  the  Church,  sprung  into  life 
on  the  resurrection  morn,  beloved  by  Him ; 
she  is  one  Spirit  with  the  Lord.  Of  her  it  is 
said:  "We  are  members  of  His  body,  of  His 
flesh,  and  of  His  bones."  Still  higher  goes  the 
Scripture  ;  for  we  are  taught  that  Christ  is  the 
Head,  and  that  we  are  the  members ;  that  we 
are  one  ;  that  the  Church  is  His  body,  the  ful- 
ness of  Him  that  filleth  all  in  all. 

If  to  these  illustrations,  than  which  nothing 
can  be  more  distinct  and  definite,  we  add  other 
declarations  of  the  word  of  God,  that  we  have 
become  partakers  of  the  divine  nature,  that  we 
are  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Christ,  that 
Christ  is  in  us  ;  to  use  his  own  solemn  words, 
"  As  thou,  Father,  art  in  Me,  and  I  in  thee,"  we 
may  well  exclaim,  "  Such  knowledge  is  too 
wonderful  for  me  ;  it  is  high,  I  cannot  attain 
unto  it." 

It  is  evident  that  two  dangerous  aberrations 
are  possible.  The  mysterious  depth  of  these 
words  of  Scripture  may  tempt  some  to  reduce 


a7id  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  233 

them  to  a  lower  and  more  intelligible  and  com- 
prehensible meaning.  Accordingly  we  may  think 
that  all  the  union  spoken  of  is  that  of  affection 
and  gratitude,  of  love  and  trust,  of  congeniality 
and  obedience.^  It  is  quite  true  that  without 
these  elements  there  can  be  no  union  between 
God  and  us,  between  Christ  and  the  church  ; 
but  it  is  also  true  that  these  very  features  of 
our  union  must  lead  us  to  the  knowledge  of  a 
deeper  union  out  of  which  they  flow.  For 
whence  this  affection  ?  It  is  not  of  nature,  but 
shed  abroad  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Faith  also  is 
the  gift  of  God,  and  by  it  Christ  dwells  in  the 

'  "  Many  have  explained  the  words  Abide  in  Christ,  and  that 
Christ  abides  in  us,  to  mean  simply  our  having  thoughts  about 
Christ.  Thus,  when  they  meditated  on  Christ's  sufferings  and 
death,  they  said  Christ  was  in  them,  and  they  in  Him ;  there  are 
still  many  among  ourselves  who  think  that  Christ  is  in  them, 
because  they  remember  Christ  and  what  He  endured,  they  do 
not  esteem  faith  in  Christ  to  be  the  true  spiritual  being  of  Christ 
in  them  and  our  being  in  Christ ;  but  dream  that  there  is  eternal 
life  in  their  running,  thinking,  and  fancying  about  Christ,  and 
busying  themselves  with  semblances,  which  was  much  the  prac- 
tice under  the  Papacy,  and  is  still,  that  meditating  on  Christ's 
sufferings  is  considered  to  be  the  indwelling  of  Christ  in  the 
heart,  whereby  Christ's  sufferings  are  misunderstood  and  sub- 
verted. But  the  Lord  does  not  say,  Your  thoughts  of  me  are  in 
me,  or  my  thoughts  are  in  you ;  but  I,  I  am  in  you.  He  does 
not  speak  of  bare  thoughts,  but  that  I,  with  body,  soul,  godliness, 
righteousness,  with  sins,  folly,  and  wisdom,  am  in  Him,  and  that 
Christ,  with  His  wisdom,  righteousness,  holiness,  and  blessed- 
ness, is  in  me." — Luther. 


234        '^^^^  Indwelling  of  God  by  Love 

heart.  And  of  obedience  or  fruit,  we  know  that 
only  the  abiding  in  the  true  vine  can  originate 
or  sustain  it.  Our  union  with  Christ  is  therefore 
not  merely  ethical,  but  real  (physical).  Christ 
is  really  the  source  and  continued  strength  of 
our  life.  If  Christ's  union  with  the  Father 
were  merely  a  moral  one,  then  similarly  is  ours 
with  Christ.  But  Jesus  saith,  "As  the  living 
Father  hath  sent  me,  and  I  live  by  the  Father: 
so  he  that  eateth  me,  even  he  shall  live  by  me." 
Spiritual  conformity  to  Christ  and  continued 
obedience  to  His  holy  and  sweet  will  are  most 
precious  features  and  results  of  that  real  and 
hidden  union  between  Christ  and  the  believer, 
of  which  God  the  Father  is  the  author,  in  which 
Christ  is  the  centre,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the 
connecting  link.  The  word.  Baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper,  are  channels,  faith  the  receptive 
organ. 

The  root  of  this  union  is  the  eternal  counsel 
of  Godhead ;  the  realisation  is  in  the  incar- 
nation, death,  and  resurrection  of  the  Son  of 
God.  The  ingrafting  of  the  branches,  the 
formation  of  the  members,  the  betrothal  of  the 
bride,  is  the  work  of  the  co-equal  Spirit ;  the 
consummation,  the  marriage  feast  of  the  Lamb. 
Of  which  mystery  neither  the  church  nor  the 
individual  believer  must  ever  abate  one  jot  or 


and  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  235 

tittle.  The  mystery  of  the  incarnation  has 
changed  every  thing  upon  earth,  giving  us 
more  than  an  angel's  nature,  since  God  became 
man.  He  who  is  perfect  God  became  perfect 
man,  and  now  (mystery  of  mysteries)  has  taken 
our  manhood  into  God,  made  it  one  with  Him- 
self, never  to  be  parted  from  Him,  not  lost, 
as  in  the  ocean  of  His  divinity,  but  for  ever 
glorified,  filled,  in-oned  with  God.  "  Nearer  and 
closer  than  any  union,  with  a  nearness  inferior 
only  to  that  oneness  of  the  divine  nature,  is  the 
oneness  of  our  nature  with  that  of  God  in  the 
person  of  our  ever-blessed  Redeemer.  Above 
angels  and  principalities  and  powers,  is  this  our 
human  nature  glorified  in  God,  with  that  glory 
which  the  Son  had  before  the  world  was."  And 
we,  who  believe,  are  one  with  Jesus.  We 
cannot  comprehend  this  mystery,  and  we  do 
not  measure  it  by  our  feelings  ;  we  hold  it  fast 
by  faith,  and  if  we  were  unbelieving  or  silent, 
the  Lord's  supper  would  declare  it — Christ  and 
the  Church  are  one;  Christ  by  His  death  has 
become  the  life  of  His  people. 

But  while  we  seek  to  avoid  the  danger  of 
lowering  the  meaning  of  the  Scripture  state- 
ments, we  may  err  in  another  direction.  We 
may  lose  ourselves  in  vague  and  indefinite 
notions,  and  thus  lose  the  real  power  and  con- 


236        The  hidwelliiig  of  God  by  Love 

solatlon  of  this  truth.  Let  us  bear  in  mind 
that  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  has  not  come 
yet ;  and,  what  is  closely  connected  with  this, 
that  many  aspects  of  this  truth  refer  only  par- 
tially to  the  individual  believer,  they  refer  to 
the  whole  company  and  organism  of  the  elect. 
There  is  therefore  much  which  at  present  we 
cannot  realize ;  for  we  do  not  as  yet  possess  it ; 
and  it  is  difficult  for  us  even  to  form  a  concep- 
tion of  that  union  between  Christ  and  the  saints 
which  shall  finally  be  manifested  and  consum- 
mated. 

There  are  two  aspects  of  this  truth,  which 
are,  strictly  speaking,  experimental  and  prac- 
tical. The  one  is,  that  the  indwelling  of  God 
is  His  love  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts ;  the 
other,  that  Christ  dwells  in  us  by  the  Spirit. 
The  two  aspects  are  substantially  the  same  ; 
but  it  may  help  us  to  consider  them  separately. 
Is  the  love  of  God  in  me  .'*  Have  I  the  Spirit 
of  Christ  ? 

TI.    GOD   IS   LOVE. 

Love  appears  lovely  to  all.  There  is  no 
word  which  possesses  an  attraction  so  strong 
and  sweet  as  love.  When  we  say  that  God  is 
love,  and  that  love  is  the  fulfilment  of  the  law, 
and  that  love  is  greater  than  faith  and  hope, 


and  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  237 

the  assent  of  all  is  immediately  gained.  Why 
is  this  ?  There  is  a  problem  here  which  leads 
us  into  great  depths.  If  love  is  so  lovely,  man 
is  without  excuse  ;  for  the  law  demands  nothing 
but  love — "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God 
with  all  thy  heart,  and  all  thy  soul,  and  all  thy 
strength,  and  thy  neighbour  as  thyself;"  why 
have  we  broken  it  ?  The  gospel  announces 
nothing  but  love  ;  why  do  we  not  accept  it  ? 

Men  who  have  no  knowledge  of  sin,  and  of 
the  salvation  which  divine  love  has  secured, 
have  very  confused  and  erroneous  thoughts 
when  they  say,  God  is  love ;  and  yet  we  are 
glad  that  the  word  love  has  such  a  powerful 
attraction  ;  for  we  say  unto  them  :  The  love 
which  you  ignorantly  exalt  we  declare  unto 
you.  "  Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God, 
but  that  He  loved  us,  and  sent  His  Son  to  be 
the  propitiation  for  our  sins."  This  love  of  God 
is  not  merely  revealed  to  us,  but  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  it  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts.  And  this 
perfect  love  of  God  now  dwelleth  in  us.  It  has 
kindled  love  in  us,  as  light  is  begotten  of  light ; 
but  it  is  not  our  limited  and  weak  love  to  God 
w^hich  gives  us  confidence,  which  casts  out 
all  fear,  which  begets  hope,  that  maketh  not 
ashamed,  and  which  is  the  constraining  power 
of  our  life  ;  it  is  God's  love  to  iis  which  dwells 


238        The  Indwelling  of  God  by  Love 

in  us — the  infinite  and  eternal  love  of  the  Father 
through  the  self-sacrifice  of  the  Son,  revealed 
and  imparted  by  the  co-equal  Spirit. 

None  know  the  love  of  God,  except  those 
who  know  the  God  of  love.  The  whole  Old 
Testament  may  be  considered  as  the  exposition 
of  the  word  God  ;  the  whole  New  Testament 
as  the  unfolding  of  the  word  love.  If  we  say, 
"  God  is  love,"  do  we  know  what  is  meant  by 
God  ?  He  is  light,  and  in  Him  is  no  darkness 
at  all.  His  majesty  and  truth,  His  righteous- 
ness and  justice,  His  mercy  and  compassion. 
His  condecension  in  electing  a  people,  and  His 
jealousy  for  their  exclusive  loyalty  and  allegi- 
ance, all  the  features  of  the  divine  countenance, 
must  be  seen  in  union,  before  we  pronounce 
with  the  spirit  and  the  understanding  that  mys- 
terious word  "  God."  As  is  the  idea  of  God, 
so  will  be  the  conception  of  love.  Can  we  call 
that  love,  which  can  tolerate  evil — evil,  which 
is  the  opposite  of  love,  and  destruction  of  it  ? 
Can  love  be  indifferent  to  the  true  blessedness 
of  its  object,  or  can  love  be  satisfied  without 
response  and  return  ?  The  love  which  the 
world  attributes  to  God  is  unworthy  of  the 
name.  According  to  this  view,  God  remains 
unknown  and  unloved,  and  instead  of  holiness, 
power,  truth,  grace,  harmoniously  blended,  bring- 


and  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  239 

ing-  the  bsiloved  object  into  an  atmosphere  of 
peace,  and  communion,  and  conformity  with 
God,  there  is  but  a  feeble  indulgence  and  pity, 
which  overlooks  sin,  and  leaves  man  in  his 
wretched  condition,  without  the  assurance  of 
divine  favour,  and  without  a  renewal  of  his 
heart. 

Such  is  the  usual  undefined  and  unproductive 
feeling  concerning  divine  love.  But  take  the 
Old  Testament  revelation  of  God,  and  you  are 
prepared  to  understand  the  New  Testament 
declaration — God  is  love. 

God  is  good,  and  the  fountain  of  good,  and 
of  good  only.  He  must  needs  hate  iniquity, 
as  that  which  is  opposed  to  Him  and  to  all 
blessedness.  He  choses  men  that  they  may 
be  brought  near  unto  Himself.  He  therefore 
teaches  them  by  the  law  to  know  His  character, 
and  to  know  their  sinfulness.  By  the  bitter 
conviction  of  sin  and  guilt  He  turns  them 
from  sin  and  destruction ;  and  by  the  sweet 
revelation  of  His  grace  and  favour  He  draws 
them  unto  Himself.  They  now  understand 
that  He  loves  them,  and  that  He  hates  their 
sin  ;  they  are  to  live,  sin  is  to  be  destroyed. 
Their  true  self  He  seeks,  and  therefore  He  is 
jealous ;  an  undivided  heart  and  an  uncon- 
ditional  surrender  of  the  will  is   His  demand, 


240       The  Indwelling  of  God  by  Love 

and  that  because  He  is  loving.  Yet  it  is  not 
sufficient  that  Jehovah — "  I,  even  I," — forgives 
and  removes  His  people's  sin,  giving  unto  them 
His  righteousness,  He  even  gives  them  a  new- 
heart,  and  puts  His  Holy  Spirit  within  them, 
so  that  they  are  now  able  to  love  and  serve 
Him.  Nay,  He  has  promised  to  dwell  in  them, 
and  to  walk  in  them  ;  so  that  He  who  loved 
them,  who  redeemed  them,  is  also  He  who 
lives  in  them,  who  by  His  Holy  Spirit  renews 
and  sanctifies  them  with  a  most  real,  intimate, 
and  mysterious  union  and  communion  with 
Himself.  This  is  the  substance  of  the  Old 
Testament  revelation.  Jehovah  condescending 
in  election,  redeeming  in  righteousness-grace, 
renewing  and  indwelling  by  the  Spirit, — who 
is  a  God  like  unto  Him  } 

This  God  is  Love;  so  the  New  Testament 
still  further  unfolds.  Love  seeks  the  object 
itself;  God  seeks  us,  our  true  self.  Shall  I  say 
our  immortal  spirit  ?  No  ;  God  seeks  us — man 
according  to  the  divine  idea — body,  soul,  and 
spirit ;  His  desire  and  purpose  is  to  possess  us, 
knowing,  loving,  serving  Him,  and  rejoicing 
in  Him  as  our  fountain  and  centre.  Love 
rescues  us,  by  the  stupendous  sacrifice  of 
Christ,  delivering  us  from  the  condemnation 
of  sin,   from   the  curse  of   the   law,   from   the 


and  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  241 

power  of  death,  and  from  the  thraldom  of 
Satan,  and  separating  us,  by  a  painful  and  yet 
blessed  co-crucifixion,  from  sin,  the  great  oppo- 
site of  love.  Love  then  communicates  itself 
to  us,  and  that  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  so  that  we 
see,  accept,  and  respond  to  the  Father's  elec- 
tion and  the  Saviour's  redemption  by  a  will 
divinely  wrought  in  us — the  first  act  of  liberty, 
the  birth-moment  of  the  emancipated  new  man. 
Love  then  takes  up  its  abode  in  us. 

This  most  real  experience  is  described  in 
various  ways.  When  God  reveals  and  gives 
unto  us  His  love  in  Christ  Jesus  the  new  life 
commences.  Contrasting  it  with  our  past  con- 
dition, we  call  this  crisis  "regeneration."  Re- 
garding the  change  that  is  effected  in  our  will, 
we  call  it  "  conversion "  or  turning  unto  God. 
Looking  at  the  attitude  in  which  the  soul  then 
stands  to  the  divine  love,  we  call  it  "  faith."  But 
viewing  it  as  the  starting-point  of  a  new  course, 
it  is  the  receiving  of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  an  in- 
dwelling spirit,  it  is  the  entrance  of  Christ  into 
the  heart,  it  is  the  communication  of  that  love 
of  God  which  is  perfect,  infinite,  unchanging. 
God  now  dwelleth  in  us  because  we  love,  and 
because  He  hath  given  to  us  of  His  Spirit. 
Thus  are  we  betrothed  unto  Christ  and  sealed 
by  the  Spirit ;  but  the  purpose  of  love  is  not 

R 


242        The  Indwelling  of  God  by  Love 

yet  fulfilled,  for  the  marriage  of  the  Lamb  is 
not  yet  come.  We  wait  for  the  adoption  ;  that 
is,  the  redemption  of  the  body.  When  we  shall 
see  Jesus  as  He  is,  and  be  like  Him,  when, 
delivered  from  the  body  of  sin  and  death,  as  the 
children  of  the  resurrection,  changed  into  the 
likeness  of  the  transfigured  Saviour,  we  shall 
know  as  we  are  known  ;  and  in  perfect  union 
and  communion  with  the  Head  and  all  the 
saints  shall  evermore  serve  Him  in  childlike 
humility,  in  brotherly  likemindedness,  with  the 
undivided  and  restful  affection  of  the  wife,  and 
with  the  mysterious  and  at  present  incompre- 
hensible unity  of  incorporated  members  ;  then, 
brethren  and  companions  in  tribulation  and  in 
the  kingdom  and  patience  of  Jesus  Christ,  then 
shall  we  know  that  God  is  love,  then  the  words 
of  Jesus  shall  be  fulfilled,  "  I  in  them,  and  thou 
in  me  ;  that  the  love  wherewith  thou  hast  loved 
me  may  be  in  them,  and  I  in  them."^ 

When  the  sinner  returns  to  God,  he  finds 
himself  surrounded  by  divine  love.  As  a  new- 
born child,  he  opens  his  eyes  on  a  world  of 
love.  Now  he  understands  the  shepherd-love 
of  Jesus,  who  sought  and  saved  him,  who  laid 
down  His  life  to  bring  him  unto  God.     Now 

^  Rom.  viii.  23  ;  Phil.  iii.  20,  21  ;  Eph.  iv.  13  ;  John  xvii.  23 
to  end. 


and  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  243 

he  understands  the  motherly  love  of  the  Spirit, 
who,  by  the  enlightening  and  searching  power 
of  the  Word,  rescued  him  out  of  the  darkness 
when  he  lay  helpless,  and  brought  him  a  pre- 
cious jewel  into  the  treasury  of  heaven.  Now 
he  understands  the  generous  and  joyous  love 
of  the  Father,  who  adorns  him  with  Christ  as 
his  robe  and  righteousness,  giving  him  the  ring 
of  adoption  and  inheritance,  instead  of  the 
fetters  of  sin  and  fear,  endowing  him  with  the 
power  of  the  new  obedience,  so  that  the  heart 
being  enlarged,  he  is  able  to  run  in  the  way  of 
God's  commandments.  They  begin  to  make 
merry  and  to  be  glad,  and  the  feast  lasts 
throughout  time  and  eternity.^  Love  com- 
passes us  about.  The  past  appears  to  us  as 
an  island,  enclosed  by  the  ocean  of  love — 
love  electing,  love  dying,  love  drawing.  The 
future  appears  as  the  endless  manifestation  of 
love  and  enjoyment  of  it.  In  the  present  we 
see  love  above  ;  God  is  for  us  ;  love  around 
us  ;  Jesus  is  with  us  ;  love  within  ;  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  is  given  us,  assuring  us  of  the  love  of 
God,  and  constraining  us  by  the  love  of  Jesus. 

Jesus  has  the  pre-eminence.  He  is  the  way 
of  divine  love  to  us.  Only  in  Him  could  re- 
demption   come    to    us,    including    deliverance 

3  Luke  XV. 


244        '^^^  Indwelling  of  God  by  Love 

from  evil,  and  restoration  unto  glory ;  only  in 
Him  can  we  behold,  accept,  and  return  the  love 
of  God  to  us.  Jesus  has  the  pre-eminence,  yet, 
in  order  that  we  may  come  to  Him,  whose  Son 
and  gift  He  is  ;  we  confess  Christ  to  be  the 
Lord,  to  the  glory  of  the  Father.  And  as 
Jesus  points  to  the  Father,  so  He  reveals  and 
gives  Himself  unto  us  by  the  Spirit. 

And  thus  are  we  brought  again  to  the  ulti- 
mate mystery,  God  is  love,  because  God  is 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.  He  is  love, 
from  everlasting  to  everlasting.  Creation  is 
the  result,  but  not  the  beginning  of  love.  Re- 
demption is  the  manifestation  of  God  as  love, 
and  therefore  points  to  a  love  of  absolute 
necessity  and  eternity.  God  is  love,  not  God 
became  love.  Above  all  creation,  above  every 
beginning  and  end,  from  everlasting  to  ever- 
lasting in  Himself,  God  is  love;  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost  is  the  one  living  and  loving 
Jehovah.  It  is  into  this  love  that  we  are  planted 
by  the  incarnation,  death,  and  resurrection  of 
Jesus.  "  The  Father  loveth  the  Son."  "  I  and 
my  Father  are  one."  Here  is  the  ultimate 
foundation  of  our  salvation  and  glory. 

But  when  such  thoughts  of  the  eternal  cove- 
nant and  the  future  glory  are  too  high  for  us, 
there  is  a  centre  where  we  find  repose ;  there  is 


and  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  245 

a  magnet  which  draws  our  hearts  ;  there  is  one 
point  where  the  eternities  meet,  and  all  mys- 
teries become  irradiated  with  the  sweet  light  of 
peace.  It  is  the  little  hill  outside  Jerusalem  ;  it 
is  the  cross  outside  the  camp;  it  is  Jesus  cruci- 
fied for  us. 

"  Time's  undefined  dimensions, 
Eternit/s  expansions, 

Can  give  my  heart  no  rest ; 
When  on  such  depths  I  ponder, 
My  soul  is  lost  in  wonder, 

And  feels  with  awe  opprest. 

"  The  Son  of  God  is  dying. 
Faith  hears  the  Saviour  crying, 
'Tis  finished  !  ■  Lamb  of  God, 
I  see  now  my  election, 
And  glorious  resurrection. 
In  Thy  most  precious  blood." 

III.    IF   WE   LOVE,   GOD   DWELLETH   IN    US. 

We  cannot  love  God  until  we  believe  that 
God  loves  us ;  but  as  love  presupposes  faith,  so 
there  can  be  no  faith  in  God's  love  without  our 
loving  Him.  We  are  saved  by  faith  only  ;  but 
faith  is  never  alone.  It  contains  the  germ  of 
love. 

As  Scripture  teaches,  that  there  is  no  love 
except  by  faith  in  God's  love,  so  Scripture 
equally  teaches  that  there  is  no  faith  without 
love.     We  know  that  God  loved  us,  because 


246        The  Indwelling  of  God  by  Love 

Christ  died  for  us ;  we  know  that  having  thus 
loved  us  while  we  were  enemies,  He  loves  us 
much  more  now,  being  reconciled  to  Him  by 
the  death  of  His  Son.  The  love  of  God  is 
now  in  our  hearts,  and  it  is  thus  that  God 
dwells  in  us.  The  apostle  John,  in  harmony 
with  all  Scripture,  gives  us  two  descriptions 
or  tests  of  the  indwellinor  of  God.^  The  first 
is  love ;  the  second  is  the  possession  of  the 
Spirit. 

"If  we  love  one  another,"   he  says,   "God 

"^  dwelleth  in  us."^  It  is  narrated  that  the  aged 
apostle  was  carried  into  the   assembly  of  the 

\  saints,  and  that  the  only  words  he  addressed  to 
them  were,  "  Children,  love  one  another."  It 
seemed  to  him  the  comprehensive  summary, 
the  highest  point  Christian  experience  can  reach. 
If  God  is  love,  then,  wherever  He  is,  there  must 
be  the  presence,  the  power,  the  blessing  of  love. 
If  God  is  in  us,  then,  wherever  we  are,  there 

^   I  John  iv.  passim. 

5  Simple  words  of  the  " Wiirtemberger  Original"  Flattich  : 
"  Because  God  loved  the  world  and  delights  in  human  beings, 
I  would  like  to  take  more  delight  and  pleasure  in  the  humblest 
person  than  in  the  most  beautiful  buildings  and  possessions.  I 
am  therefore  glad  to  have  so  many  people  about  me,  and  that 
I  can  exercise  myself  in  love,  and  have  pleasure  in  men  ;  and 
I  notice  that  if  I  have  a  feeling  of  displeasure  even  towards 
one  individual,  it  mars  my  happiness  ;  but  when  I  can  love  all, 
1  am  happy." 


and  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  247 

must  be  love,  going  forth  as  light,  consolation, 
help;  forgiving,  restoring,  healing.  But  why  does 
he  not  say  :  If  we  love  God,  He  dwelleth  in  us  ? 
Why  is  his  exhortation,  "Love  one  another"? 
Because  he  is  anxious  we  should  not  deceive 
ourselves.  We  may  imagine  we  love  God,  when 
we  only  love  His  gifts,  or  His  worship,  or  the 
enjoyment  of  His  promises,  and  of  our  con- 
templation of  His  truth.  To  love  God  is  to  love 
Love.  If  we,  then,  do  not  live  in  an  atmosphere 
of  love,  we  do  not  live  in  God.  If  affection 
and  tenderness,  and  the  spirit  of  helpfulness  and 
kindness,  do  not  animate  us  towards  the  brethren 
whom  we  see,  do  we  possess  the  loving  mind 
towards  God,  whom  we  do  not  see  ? 

The  apostle  John  was  called  by  the  ancient 
Church  the  theologian.  He  was  compared  to 
the  eagle,  who  soars  high  above  mountains,  and 
gazes  into  the  bright  sun.  It  was  given  unto 
him  to  testify  of  the  glory  of  the  only-begotten. 
And  yet  although  in  the  writings  of  the  beloved 
disciple  we  are  instructed  in  the  deepest  mys- 
teries, we  find  there  also  the  simplest  and  most 
practical  aspect  of  truth.  He  who  lived  in  the 
contemplation  of  God,  and  whose  fellowship 
was  with  the  Father  and  the  Son,  beheld  most 
clearly  that  reality  of  love  which  is  the  source 
and  strength  of  all  obedience. 


248        The  Indwelliiig  of  God  by  Love 

The  first  epistle  of  John  dwells  chiefly  on 
love,  viewed  in  its  comprehensive  character  as 
love  to  God  and  man.  Here  we  must  not 
separate  what  God  hath  joined  together.  Our 
Lord  was  delighted  with  the  answer  of  the 
scribe  who  had  recosfnized  love  to  be  the  sum 
and  substance  of  the  law  ;  and  Jesus  has  taught 
us  that  the  second  commandment,  though 
necessarily  second,  as  it  rests  on  and  is  born  of 
the  first,  is  yet  equal  to  the  first.  The  beloved 
disciple  emphasizes  love  to  our  brethren.  He 
presents  it  as  the  evidence  of  regeneration,  of 
our  having  passed  from  death  unto  life  ;  and 
not  merely  as  the  evidence  and  symptom  of 
our  condition,  but  as  the  condition  itself.  He 
that  loveth  his  brother  abideth  in  the  ligfht. 
God  is  light,  because  God  is  love.  If  we  walk 
in  love,  we  walk  in  God  and  in  light. 

If  we  examine  our  own  hearts,  we  shall  find 
the  truth  of  John's  teaching.  We  do  not  need 
to  soar  up  into  high  and  mysterious  regions,  or 
to  wait  for  influences  of  a  special  nature,  if  we 
wish  to  enjoy  fellowship  with  God.  If  we  look 
into  our  hearts,  and  if  we  find  there  clouds  of 
darkness,  envy,  jealousy,  apathy,  uncharitable- 
ness,  if  there  is  a  lack  of  sympathy  and  brotherly 
kindness,  or  if  we  cherish  unforgiving  thoughts, 
if  we  withhold  sympathy  and  help  from   our 


and  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  249 

brother,  these  clouds  are  not  merely  between 
us  and  our  fellow-man,  but  between  us  and 
God.  Let  them  be  dispersed,  and  you  will 
see  within  you  the  reflection  of  the  bright, 
peaceful  blue  of  God's  heaven.  God  dwelleth 
in  you. 

If  we  regarded  the  indwelling  of  God  in  this 
light,  we  should  be  more  truly  humbled  and  more 
truly  comforted.  Many,  it  is  to  be  feared,  walk 
without  the  power  and  enjoyment  of  God's 
light,  because  they  exercise  themselves  in  things 
too  high  for  them  ;  and  this  does  not  himible  the 
soul,  although  it  perplexes  it.  Whether  I  love 
my  neighbour,  and  walk  in  lowliness,  kindness, 
tenderness,  imitating  the  example  of  the  Lord, 
and  illustrating  the  apostle's  description  of  love 
(i  Cor.  xiii.),  is  a  question  requiring  for  its 
solution  no  metaphysical  and  theological  sub- 
tlety, but  leading  to  much  real  humility  and  to 
a  deep  sense  of  our  selfishness,  pride,  and  hard- 
ness of  heart.  To  whom  then  can  we  go  but 
to  the  Lord  Himself,  who  is  love;  to  Jesus, 
who  died  for  us,  to  deliver  us  from  our  selfish 
hearts,  that  we  may  live  unto  Him  } 

Love  to  God  cannot  exist  without  love  to 
man.  It  is  incompatible,  as  need  not  be 
pointed  out,  with  hatred,  even  the  hidden  be- 
ginnings of  it,  as  anger  in  the  heart,  envy  and 


250        The  hidwelling  of  God  by  Love 

malice.  It  is  also  incompatible  with  indifference  ; 
for  how  can  love  to  God  manifest  itself  and 
find  room  for  activity  except  in  relation  to  our 
fellow-men  ?  And  it  is  the  very  nature  of  love 
to  manifest  itself  and  to  work. 

All  we  know  of  God  in  Christ  and  by  the 
Spirit  immediately  involves  in  it  love  to  man. 

God  is  Father,  and  from  this  simplest  truth 
the  Lord  Jesus  deduces  the  command,  "  Love 
your  enemies,"  be  filled  with  love,  springing 
out  of  the  spontaneous  and  inexhaustible  ful- 
ness of  the  Father's  love  ;  love  all,  and  not 
merely  those  who  by  their  love  deserve  and 
attract  yours.  (Matt.  v.  44.)  God  is  Father, 
in  a  more  special  sense,  of  all  who  are  born 
again,  and  by  faith  have  received  the  adop- 
tion ;  and  again  the  immediate  inference  is, 
"Whosoever  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ 
is  born  of  God  :  and  every  one  that  loveth 
Him  that  begat  loveth  him  also  that  is  begotten 
of  Him." 

If  we  look  to  Jesus,  we  see  in  Him  an  em- 
bodiment of  the  two  commandments  in  their 
unity.  He  loved  God,  and  therefore  laid  down 
His  life  for  the  sheep  ;  He  loved  man,  and 
therefore  He  sanctified  Himself  for  us.  Loving 
Him,  we  love  the  Father  and  we  love  mankind, 
and   especially  the  church.     One   with  Christ, 


and  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  251 

we  are  members  one  of  another ;  and  the  more 
we  understand  and  feel  the  love  of  Christ,  the 
more  we  enter  into  the  great  purpose  and  final 
reward  of  the  Saviour,  the  Church,  which  is 
His  body,  the  fulness  of  Him  that  filleth  all  in 
all.  This  is  the  new  commandment  which  the 
Lord  gave  His  disciples,  that  they  love  one 
another.  It  is  new,  because  the  love  of  God 
in  the  incarnation,  and  the  self-sacrifice  of  the 
Son  of  God,  and  in  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
as  an  indwelling  Spirit,  was  new,  although 
testified  and  foreshadowed  in  the  law  and 
prophets.  It  is  the  one  commandment,  because 
in  keeping  it  we  enter  into  the  meaning  as  well 
as  the  fruition  of  the  highest  manifestation  of 
God  in  Christ,  of  the  new  covenant  of  the 
blood  of  Jesus  and  the  Holy  Ghost. 

If  we  love  the  Lord  Jesus,  we  have  been 
transplanted  out  of  the  world  into  that  element 
and  community  of  which  Jesus  is  the  centre. 
We  belong  now  to  the  flock,  to  the  brotherhood, 
to  the  body,  in  which  all  members  are  organi- 
cally united,  growing  together,  and  strengthen- 
ing one  another.  In  every  Christian  we  behold 
some  feature  of  Christ's  countenance  reflected, 
some  gift  of  grace  which  we  do  not  possess, 
some  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  in  which  we 
are  deficient,  and  thus  we  learn  Chj'ist  in  him. 


252        The  Indwelling  of  God  by  Love 

and  our  faith  and  love  are  stirred  up  and 
increased  by  that  which  he  suppHeth,  In  and 
through  him  we  learn  to  love  Jesus  more  fully 
and  with  deeper  insight.  And  the  very  defects, 
failures,  and  sins  of  our  brethren  give  us  occa- 
sion to  exercise  ourselves  in  the  love  of  Christ, 
which  in  all  things  shows  faith  and  endurance 
and  hopefulness.  We  learn  to  wash  the  dis- 
ciples feet  by  our  prayer  and  kindness  ;  by  our 
counsel  and  example  we  endeavour  to  deliver 
them  from  the  defilement  of  sin  and  the  infir- 
mities and  inconsistencies  of  their  walk. 

As  we  cannot  love  the  Father  and  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  without  loving  man,  so  the  in- 
dwelling of  the  Holy  Ghost  brings  before  us 
still  further  the  essential  necessity  of  love  in  its 
comprehensive  meaning.  He  is  pre-eminently 
the  Spirit  of  communicating  and  sanctifying 
love.  To  be  in  the  Spirit  is  to  love  ;  to  walk 
in  the  spirit  of  adoption,  in  the  Spirit  of  the 
Son,  is  to  walk  in  love,  as  Christ  also  hath 
loved  us,  and  given  Himself  for  us  unto  God 
an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  for  a  sweet-smelling 
savour.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  the  real  [objective] 
bond  between  Christ  and  the  believer,  between 
the  believer  and  the  whole  Church.  How 
then  can  the  Spirit  be  in  us  unless  we  love 
the    Head  and  the   members  1      If  as   indivi- 


a7id  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  253 

duals  and  as  congregations  we  desire  to  be 
more  conscious  of  the  presence  of  God's  Spirit, 
and  to  be  strengthened  with  might  by  His 
Spirit  in  the  inner  man,  let  us  begin  with 
love  to  one  another;  for  the  Spirit  is  pre- 
eminently love.  The  connection  between 
brotherly  love  and  the  manifested  blessing  and 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  brought  before  us 
in  that  beautiful  and  touching  Psalm  :  "  Behold, 
how  good  and  how  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren 
to  dwell  together  in  unity!  It  is  like  the 
precious  ointment  upon  the  head,  that  ran 
down  upon  the  beard,  even  Aaron's  beard : 
that  went  down  to  the  skirts  of  his  garments  ; 
as  the  dew  of  Hermon,  and  as  the  dew  that 
descended  upon  the  mountains  of  Zion  :  for 
there  the  Lord  commanded  the  blessing,  even 
life  for  evermore." 

IV.    THE   INDWELLING   SPIRIT. 

The  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  the  indwelling 
Spirit  is  the  consummation  of  all  divine  pro- 
mises, and  the  crown  and  fruit  of  the  Saviour's 
death  and  resurrection.  Jesus  has  not  left  us 
orphans,  but  He  has,  according  to  His  promise, 
sent  His  Spirit,  and  so  dwells  in  us,  and  we  in 
Him.  Because  the  Spirit  dwells  in  us,  we  can 
say,  "  To  me  to  live  is  Christ."     We  pray  in 


254        The  Indwellmg  of  God  by  Love 

the  Holy  Ghost ;  the  very  fainting  of  our  hearts 
and  longings  of  our  souls  in  unutterable  groan- 
ings  are  the  Spirit's  breathings ;  any  good  words 
we  utter,  it  is  the  Spirit  of  our  Father  which 
speaketh  in  us  ;  our  diligence  and  zeal  arise 
only  out  of  the  energy  which  worketh  in  us 
mightily ;  our  whole  spiritual  life  is  contin- 
ually sustained  and  nourished,  enlightened  and 
directed  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  whom  the 
Father  and  the  Son  have  taken  up  their  abode 
within  us. 

Sin  is  now  not  merely  against  God  above 
us,  and  against  God  for  us,  but  against  God 
within  us.  It  is  against  the  very  presence  of 
Him  who  in  amazing  love  hath  taken  up  His 
abode  within  us.  It  is  against  the  very  pre- 
sence of  Him  who  proceedeth  from  the  Father 
and  from  the  Son,  through  that  humanity  m 
which  He  died  for  our  sins,  and  is  now  glorified 
as  our  Lord,  our  righteousness,  and  life. 

And  if  we  ask,  What  is  the  manifestation  of 
the  Spirit  ?  what  is  His  first  gift  ?  what  the 
first  and  most  important  fruit  of  His  indwelling  ? 
the  answer  can  only  be.  Love.  Nay,  the  in- 
dwelling of  the  Spirit  is  the  indwelling  of  love. 
The  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  is  given  unto  us.  It 
is  for  this  reason  that  the  epistle  of  John  co- 


a7id  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  255 

ordinates  these  two  aspects  of  the  indwelhng 
of  God  in  us  ;  the  first,  that  we  love,  and  the 
second,  that  we  have  received  the  Spirit. 

Love  is  the  substance  of  the  law,  and  instead 
of  the  law,  we  have  now  received  the  Spirit ; 
for  the  law  could  not  give  life,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  can  only  come  through  the  preaching  of 
the  gospel.  Hence  the  indwelling  of  the  Spirit 
must  be  love,  or  the  fulfilling  of  the  law. 
(Compare  Jer.  xxxi.  and  Gal.) 

Love  is  the  new  commandment  of  Christ.  If 
we  love,  we  abide  in  Him.  But  the  Spirit  is 
the  real,  vital  link  between  the  Vine  and  the 
branches.  Hence  the  Spirit  is  love.  Love  is 
the  very  being  of  God.  The  Father  loveth 
the  Son,  His  co-equal  and  co-eternal  Son,  by 
the  Spirit,  who  is  the  love  and  bond  of  both  ; 
"He  loveth  the  human  nature  of  His  Son  as 
joined  in  one  person  with  the  Son  of  His  love  ; 
and  now  He  loveth  us  as  joined  on  to  Him, 
whom  He  loveth  everlastingly.  And  that  we 
may  love  Him,  He  hath  given  us  His  Spirit, 
that  Spirit  of  love  in  whom  the  everlasting 
Father  loved  His  co-eternal  Son,  so  that  He, 
who  is  the  bond  of  both,  should  be  the  bond  of 
our  love  with  the  Father,  and  with  one  another." 
Our  nature  is  now  exalted  at  the  right  hand  of 
God,  and  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  dwelleth 


256        The  Indwelling  of  God  by  Love 

in  Jesus  bodily.  And  through  Jesus  God  has 
given  us  His  Holy  Spirit  to  dwell  in  us,  that 
thus  in  truth  and  reality  we  might  be  made 
partakers  of  the  divine  nature. 

As  the  Spirit  is  sent  of  the  Father,  so  He 
comes  from  Christ  in  His  glorified  humanity. 
It  is  to  assure  us  of  this  most  important  and 
precious  fact  that  Jesus,  after  His  resurrection, 
breathed  upon  the  disciples,  and  said,  '*  Receive 
ye  the  Holy  Ghost."  God  breathed  into  Adam, 
and  thus  Adam  was  a  living  soul ;  from  Christ, 
the  quickening  Spirit,  from  His  inmost  body, 
proceed  the  rivers  of  living  water,  even  the 
Spirit,  now  dwelling  in  us.  Hence  the  advent 
of  the  Spirit  is  the  fruit  of  Christ's  return  to 
glory  after  He  had  finished  His  work  of  atone- 
ment. The  Spirit  is  the  pledge  as  well  as  the 
bond  of  our  indissoluble  union  with  the  incarnate 
Son  of  God. 

Now  God  is  no  longer  to  us  outside  ourselves, 
but  within.  The  Spirit  of  God  is  the  Spirit  of 
our  spirit.  Our  whole  inner  life  is  under  His 
omnipotent  and  all-tender  influence.  We  ascend 
to  God  by  the  Spirit.  God  communes  with  us 
by  Him.  How  solemn  is  the  exhortation, 
"Grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit."  We  were  once 
without  the  indwelling  Spirit,  and  then  the  law 
of  God  and  the  gospel  of  Christ  were  outside 


and  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  257 

of  us,  external  authority  and  invitation  ;  and  the 
warning  was,  Obey,  yield.  But  now  Christ 
dwells  in  us  by  the  Spirit.  It  is  Jesus  Himself 
who  is  represented  by  the  Spirit  in  us.  Grieve 
not  the  Holy  Spirit ;  for  He,  like  Jesus  and  the 
Father,  is  no  mere  influence  or  power,  but  the 
Holy  One,  living  and  loving,  who  is  pained  by 
the  resistance  and  disobedience  of  men.  It  is 
written  of  Israel,  that  God  sent  unto  them  the 
Messenger,  in  whom  was  His  name;  "that 
He  was  afflicted  in  all  their  afflictions  ;  that  the 
angel  of  His  presence  saved  them  ;  that  He 
bare  them,  and  carried  them  all  the  days  of 
old.  But  they  rebelled,  and  vexed  His  Holy 
Spirit."^  Behold  the  fulfilment.  Christ  is  our 
great  Captain  and  all-loving,  merciful,  and  com- 
passionate Immanuel.  We  are  guided  by  Him, 
and  upheld  by  His  sympathy  and  intercession, 
during  our  journey  in  the  wilderness.  The 
Holy  Ghost  is  given  unto  us ;  He  is  God, 
light  and  love ;  grieve  Him  not. 

As  in  every  sin  against  Jesus  men  dis- 
honoured and  rejected  the  Father,  so  in  every 
sorrow  we  cause  the  Holy  Ghost  we  grieve 
Jesus,  from  whom  He  comes — Jesus,  who  by 
Him  dwells  within  us.     And  who  is  it  that  will 

^  Isaiah  Ixiii.,  to  which  the  apostle  Paul  evidently  refers  in 
Eph.  iv.  30. 

S 


258       The  Indwelling  of  God  by  Love. 

gladden  us  if  we  grieve  the  Spirit,  the  only 
giver  of  consolation  and  joy  ?  He  is  the  oil  of 
gladness,  which,  from  Jesus  the  High  Priest 
and  Head,  descends  on  all  the  members  of  the 
mystical  body. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

WITH   JESUS,  NOW  AND    FOR   EVER.' 

A  CELEBRATED  German  mystic  used  to 
•^  ^  write  in  the  albums  of  his  friends  this 
motto  : 

HE,    TO   WHOM   TIME 

IS     AS     ETERNITY, 

AND.  ETERNITY 

AS   TIME, 

IS   DELIVERED 

FROM    ALL    STRIFE.  2 

The  experience  of  every  Christian  testifies  of 
this  truth.  The  Lord,  who  is  from  everlasting 
to  everlasting,  is  the  dwelling-place,  the  safe 
and  peaceful  home,  of  His  saints  in  all  genera- 
tions. Even  now  God  is  our  portion,  and  the 
eternal  life  is  begun.  Our  life  is  hid  with 
Christ  in  God.  We  are  strangers  and  pilgrims 
on  earth  ;  our  citizenship  is  in  heaven,  and  we 

'  This  chapter  is  published  in  a  separate  form,  price  twopence. 
^  Jacob  Boehme  (died  1624)  :  "Wem  Zeit  ist  Wie  Evvigkeit, 
und  Ewigkeit  wie  Zeit,  Der  ist  befreit  Von  allem  Streit." 


26o       Wiih  Jesus,  Now  a7id  for  Ever. 

are  the  inhabitants  of  an  abiding  city.  It  is 
equally  true  that  we  are  strangers  and  pilgrims 
in  time,  and  that  we  are  living  the  eternal  life. 
We  can  more  easily  realize  the  local  contrast, 
earth  and  heaven,  than  the  contrast,  time  and 
eternity.  Yet  the  life  of  faith  is  the  life  which 
breathes  the  atmosphere  of  eternity,  which 
looks  on  the  things  unseen  and  eternal,  and 
beholds  the  glory  of  God.  And  as  the  heavenly 
citizenship  is  ours  while  we  are  still  walking  on 
earth,  so  the  eternal  life  is  ours  though  we  are 
still  in  time.  In  the  most  transitory  and  earthly 
things,  such  as  eating  and  drinking,  we  are  to 
keep  in  view  the  eternal  ocean,  the  glory  of 
God.  In  the  midst  of  cares  and  sorrows,  toil 
and  labour,  conflict  and  struggle,  we  have  a 
still  deeper  and  more  real  possession,  even  that 
hidden  life  in  which  there  is  no  pause  and  no 
change,  but  perennial  sunshine  and  inexhaustible 
fulness,  perfect  rest  and  the  peace  which  passeth 
understanding.  Part  of  the  daily  bread  which 
our  heavenly  Father  gives  to  His  children  on 
earth  is  to  enter  daily  into  the  secret  place  of 
the  most  high,  and  to  be  in  eternity.^     Eternity 

3  "  We  must  go  many  times  every  day  into  the  unseen  world, 
and  realize  that  we  are  there,  much  more  truly  than  in  our  room, 
and  in  this  present  evil  world." — Otinger.  Another  Christian, 
says  :  "  The  first  thing  I  desire  to  do  in  heaven  is  to  thank  God 
for  having  had  so  much  heaven  on  earth." 


Wiih  yesus,  Now  and  for  Ever.       261 

is  wrought  into  time.  He  who  Hves  in  eternity 
finds  time  and  strength  for  every  good  work 
which  God  lays  before  him/ 

But  not  merely  is  time  as  eternity,  but  eter- 
nity is  as  time.  We  look  forward  to  another  age. 
We  await  the  Lord's  return  and  the  Father's 
house,  in  which  are  many  mansions.  It  is  this 
same  Jesus  who  loved  us  and  redeemed  us,  who 
is  now  dwelling  in  our  hearts  by  faith,  who  will 
come  again  and  receive  us  to  Himself,  that  we 
may  thus  be  for  ever  with  the  Lord.  It  doth 
not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be,  but  it  is  no 
vague,  shadowy,  and  colourless  infinity  to  which 
we  look  forward.  Even  now  we  know  and 
love  God  ;  we  have  union  and  communion  with 
Jesus,  the  Son  of  the  Father;  we  have  fellow- 
ship with  the  brethren  ;  we  praise  and  serve, 
nay,  we  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable  and  full 
of  glory.  Even  at  present  we  are  come  to 
mount  Zion  and  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  and 
the  angels  of  God  worship  by  ministering  unto 
us   the    heirs  of  salvation.^     When   the    Lord 

■*  It  is  a  commonplace  remark,  that  time  is  short ;  but  it  is 
also  true  that  time  is  long,  and  every  day  and  hour  a  vessel  into 
which  immeasurably  much  may  be  poured  before  it  is  filled. 
The  saying,  "  Time  is  money,"  is  the  true  index  of  the  worldly 
spirit.  The  Christian  may  say,  "  Time  is  eternity  ;"  my  moments 
are  precious,  because  I  live,  work,  and  suffer  for  eternity. 

5  Heb.  xii.  27 ;  i.  14. 


262       With  Jesiis,  Now  and  for  Ever. 

returns,  the  hidden  life  and  the  hidden  glory 
will  become  manifest.  Without  imperfection 
and  sin,  without  conflict  and  danger,  delivered 
from  all  bondage  and  sorrow,  we  shall  be  with 
Jesus  and  the  saints  in  perfect  love,  and  in  the 
joy  of  perfect  service.  Eternity  is  to  us  as 
time,  the  age  to  come,  the  continuation,  the 
manifestation,  and  perfection  of  our  present 
and  true  existence. 

It  is  the  Lord  Jesus  who  gives  this  eternal 
life;  in  Him  only  can  we  find  rest.  How  soon 
in  our  earthly  existence  do  we  become  conscious 
that  we  are  not  at  rest !  We  remember  child- 
hood. "  The  young  spirit  has  awakened  out 
of  eternity,  and  knows  not  what  we  mean  by 
time.  As  yet,  time  is  no  fast-hurrying  stream, 
but  a  sportful,  sunlit  ocean. "^  But  how  soon 
do  we  leave  this  mysterious  morning- land  of 
our  earthly  life,  and  discover  that  we  are  im- 
prisoned in  darkness  and  in  sin  !  It  is  man's 
misery  which  bespeaks  his  grandeur  lost.  It 
is  because  he  is  a  dethroned  king  that  he  feels 
unhappy  without  the  royal  spirit,  dignity,  and 
power.  It  is  because  he  is  fallen — he  who  was 
created  in  God's  image— that  he  feels  hampered 
and  fettered  when  he  sees  himself  the  creature 
of   time,   surrounded   with   things   that    perish, 

^  T.  Carlyle,  Sartor  Resartus. 


With  Jesus,  Now  and  for  Ever.      263 

and  unable  to  find  anywhere  that  "type  of 
perfect  in  his  mind."  If  we  had  no  idea  of 
eternity,  could  we  have  the  idea  of  time,  and 
feel  the  sadness  and  bondage  of  it  ?  If  there 
is  no  fountain  of  living  water,  whence  and  why 
our  thirst  ?  If  there  is  no  heaven,  no  eternity, 
who  has  invented  the  language  of  the  human 
heart,  the  deep  sigh,  though  all  the  waters  of 
this  life  have  been  tasted  ? 

And  in  this  darkness  and  misery  we  are  con- 
scious that  sin  is  the  deep  and  bitter  root,  and 
that  not  without  a  great  and  painful  wrench 
(may  we  not  call  it  death  ?)  can  we  come  to  the 
true  human  life.  Meanwhile  we  go  on  existing  ; 
but  it  is  not  life ;  for  there  is  no  present  in  it. 
It  is  made  up  of  remembrance  of  the  past,  and 
anticipation  of  the  future.  Memory  and  hope 
meet,  and  the  meeting-point  is  called  the  pre- 
sent. But  this  so-called  present  is  empty  ;  it  is 
not  filled  with  anything  substantial  and  satis- 
factory. We  seek  diversion ;  that  is,  we  flee 
from  the  emptiness  of  the  present.  It  is  in- 
structive to  study  the  testimony  of  the  poets  of 
all  ages  and  nations  on  this  point/  They  all 
confess,  that  apart  from  God  there  are  only 
broken  cisterns,  which  can  hold  no  water.  We 
never  are,  but  expect  and  dream  we  shall  be 

7  Goethe's  Faust,  "  Werd'ich  zum  augenblicke  sagen,"  &c. 


264       With  Jesus,  Now  and  for  Ever. 

blessed.  This  life  without  a  true  present  is  in 
reality  death.  What  the  world  calls  enjoying 
life  is  enjoying  death  ;  living  in  pleasure,  men 
are  dead  while  they  live.^  Worse  than  pain 
and  care,  more  exhausting  than  suffering  and 
anxiety,  is  this  empty  and  dreary  existence,  in 
which  the  soul  has  no  bread,  no  water,  no  sun- 
shine, no  love ;  in  which  the  immortal  and 
God-breathed  spirit  knows  only  time-life.^ 

But,  blessed  be  God,  Jesus  has  come  !     The 

^  I  Tim.  V.  6. 

9  All  men,  even  the  most  successful,  feel  that  there  is  some- 
thing fragmentary  and  unsatisfying  in  every  thing  that  is  merely 
temporal.  Goethe  says,  in  his  conversation  with  Eckermunn 
"  I  have  always  been  regarded  as  exceptionally  favoured  by 
fortune,  and  I  do  not  wish  to  complain  or  find  fault  with  the 
course  of  my  life.  But,  after  all,  it  is  nothing  but  labour  and 
toil  ;  and  I  may  truly  say  that  during  my  seventy-five  years  I 
have  not  had  four  weeks  of  real  comfort.  It  is  the  never-ceasing 
rolling  of  a  stone,  which  must  always  be  lifted  anew."  (Quoted 
by  Fabri  in  his  suggestive  pamphlet,  Zeit  unci  Ewigkcit)  This 
author  also  holds  the  following  view  :  "  Believers  in  Jesus  have 
eternal  life  ;  by  faith  they  behold  and  realize  things  unseen  and 
eternal.  Above  this  eternal  life  in  time  is  the  eternal  life  to 
which  we  look  forward,  when  all  that  is  imperfect  and  sinful 
shall  have  vanished,  and  we  shall  be  in  the  perfect  enjoyment  of 
present  eternal  life.  Below  the  eternal  life  in  time  is  the  region 
of  death,  in  which  there  is  no  present  (in  the  true  sense  of  the 
word)  and  no  future,  but  only  the  past.  The  past  is  remem- 
bered, the  present  contains  no  substance  for  the  soul  to  dwell 
and  to  live  on,  the  future  does  not  exist  ;  that  is,  there  is  no 
hope-  -no  prospect  of  change."  Thus  Dante  writes  that  the 
inscription  on  the  gate  of  hell  is,  "  Let  all  who  enter  here 
abandon  hope." 


With  Jestis,  Now  and  for  Ever.      265 

life  was  manifested,  and  we  have  seen  it,  even 
that  eternal  life  which  was  with  the  Father.^ 
He  has  come  to  give  rest  unto  the  weary  and 
heavy-laden,  light  to  the  mind,  peace  to  the 
conscience,  love  to  the  heart,  and  all  is  real, 
divine,  eternal,  inexhaustible.  Not  as  the  world 
giveth,  for  the  world  does  not  give  freely ;  it 
only  lends  to  recall,  it  only  exchanges  and 
barters,  often  taking  more  and  better  things 
from  us  than  it  bestows.  The  world's  gifts  are 
not  what  they  seem  to  be.  They  do  not  enrich 
the  heart ;  they  do  not  last ;  and,  above  all, 
they  are  dead  things  which  cannot  give  life. 
But  Jesus  gives,  and  gives  Himself.  Himself 
is  the  light,  the  life,  the  peace.  God  and  man, 
eternal  and  in  time,  sinless  and  a  Saviour,  the 
Holy  One  and  Redeemer  ;  there  is  no  question, 
no  longing,  no  disease,  which  He  does  not 
solve,  fulfil,  heal.  He  is  the  way,  where  before 
we  saw  no  way,  no  possibility  of  either  depar- 
ture out  of  our  misery,  or  arrival  in  the  far-off 
eternal  city.  Only  by  Him  can  we  come  to 
the  fountain  of  living  water,  to  the  Father. 

And  as  we  anticipated,  though  dimly,  it  is 
by  a  great  and  painful  wrench,  something  like 
death.  He  says,  "You  must  be  born  again." 
Mysterious  words !     He  is  to  be  our  life.     We 

'  I  John  i. 


266       With  Jesiis,  Now  and  for  Ever. 

are  near  Him  ;  but  this  is  not  enough,  we  must 
be  transplanted,  as  it  were,  grafted  into  Him. 
And  He  can  draw  us  into  Him  only  by  His 
death.  The  new  birth  can  only  be  by  our 
looking  unto  Jesus  lifted  up  as  the  Sinbearer,^ 
In  this  look  there  is  the  wrench,  the  death.  By 
the  cross  of  Christ  we  have  been  crucified  to 
the  world,  and  the  world  to  us  ;  the  old  man 
has  received  his  death  wound,  and  we  have 
begun  to  die  daily.  But  it  is  also  the  birth,  the 
commencement  of  the  resurrection-life. 

And  now  we  live !  We  have  a  present.  Not 
merely  has  the  past  lost  all  bitterness — for  our 
sins  are  forgiven,  blotted  out,  and  forgotten — - 
and  the  future  possesses  no  terror,  but  the 
present  is  full  of  life  and  reality.  For  the 
Lord  is  our  God.  When  we  think  of  Him, 
when  we  love  and  serve  Him,  when  we  pray 
and  hear  His  voice,  we  do  not  merely  exist,  we 
live.  "  To  me  to  Hve  is  Christ."  We  are  with 
Jesus.  And  in  this  present  we  possess  all  the 
treasures  of  the  past  and  of  the  future.  Now 
we  know  that  He,  who  loved  us  with  an  ever- 
lasting love,  has  taught  and  guided  us  from 
our  youth,  and  that  He  has  prepared  for  us 
an  everlasting  home  of  blessedness. 

The   remembrance  of  the  first  advent,  cul- 

^  John  iii.  3,  14. 


Wilk  Jesus,  Now  and  for  Ever.      267 

minating  in  the  sacrifice  of  love  on  Golgotha, 
and  the  hope  of  the  Lord's  return,  bringing 
glory  and  joy  to  His  ransomed  Bride  ;  this  past 
and  this  future  form  the  element  in  which  the 
Christian  lives  ;  they  are,  so  to  speak,  blended 
in  his  consciousness,  and  form  his  true  present, 
his  real,  blessed,  eternal  life.  The  Lord's  Sup- 
per is  the  emblem  of  the  inner  and  hidden  life. 
Li  the  midst  of  all  the  fleeting  and  distracting 
things  of  time,  the  constant  change  and  fluctua- 
tion of  things  temporal,  there  is  quiet  fruition, 
perfect  repose ;  it  is  at  the  table  of  the  Lord, 
it  is  in  communion' with  Him  who  is  the  life. 
Here  is  the  most  vivid  remembrance  and  reali- 
zation of  the  death  of  Christ ;  here  is  the  most 
vivid  anticipation  of  the  return  of  the  Bride- 
groom. It  is  the  Spirit  of  God  who  makes 
both  the  first  advent  a  present  and  constant 
reality  to  the  Christian,  and  who  influences  and 
animates  us  by  the  hope  of  the  second  coming 
of  our  great  God  and  Saviour.  Without  the 
teaching  and  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  we  do 
not  realize  or  possess  in  the  present  either  the 
death  or  the  glorious  return  of  our  Lord.  To 
the  Christian,  Christ's  death  and  resurrection 
are  a  present  fact,  power,  consolation,  an  ever- 
new  separation  from  sin  and  birth  unto  holiness 
^—painful  to  the  flesh,  yet  full  of  peace  and  joy 


268       With  Jesus,  Now  and  for  Ever. 

to  the  Spirit.  "  I  feel  as  if  Jesus  had  died  only 
yesterday,"  said  Luther. 

"  I  can  see  Him  even  now, 
With  His  pierced  thorn-clad  brow, 
Agonizing  on  the  tree  : 
Oh,  what  love  !  and  all  for  me," 

sings  another  saint.  "  Dear  dying  Lamb "  is 
the  invocation  of  another,  when  contemplating 
redeeming  love.  And  the  return  of  Christ  is 
that  ultimate  and  yet  most  proximate  point  to 
which  the  believer  constantly  looks,  towards 
which  is  all  his  hope,  and  from  which  he 
receives  constantly  the  deepest  impulses  and 
motives  for  purification  and  diligent  labour. 
"This  Jesus"  is  our  all.  "This  Jesus,"  born 
in  Bethlehem,  crucified  on  Calvary,  risen  and 
ascended — behold,  our  Past — "shall  so  come 
again" — behold,  our  Future.  The  same  Jesus 
and  Saviour  shall  return  unto  us,  coming  meekly 
as  the  Prince  of  Peace,  and  in  the  fulness  of 
love.  The  grace  of  God,  bringing  salvation, 
hath  appeared — this  is  our  sunrise^ — teaching 
us  to  wait  for  the  appearing  of  our  great  God 
and  Saviour — this  is  our  perfect,  never-ending 
day.  If  through  the  faith  of  the  first  advent 
we  are  enriched  by  Christ  in  all  utterance  and 
in  all  knowledge,  so  that  we  come  behind  in  no 
gift,  then  truly  we  are  waiting  for  the  coming 


WUk  Jesus,  Now  and  for  Ever.      269 

of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  we  go  forth  to  meet 
the  Bridegroom. 

II.  1 1  is  a  blessed  persuasion,  wrought  in  us  by 
the  Spirit,  that  nothing  shall  be  able  to  separate 
us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  ;  not  death,  and  what  is  still  more,  not 
"life"  (Rom.  viii.  38),  with  its  duties  and  trials, 
and  our  constant  failures  and  sins.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  believe  that  in  all  our  departures  from 
God,  and  in  all  our  sins,  the  ever-watchful  and 
tender  eyes  of  divine  love  and  pity  never  depart 
from  us  ;  and  that  the  Saviour,  who  will  never 
allow  any  of  His  sheep  to  perish,  is  ready  to 
heal  and  to  restore,  and  to  give  us  even  through 
our  falls  a  fuller  knowledge  of  his  all-sufficient 
grace.  Nay,  grace  never  ceases  her  work  within 
our  hearts ;  the  Holy  Spirit,  though  grieved,  is 
ever  abiding  in  the  soul.  And  as  this  is  the 
constant  source  of  our  failures  and  falls — that 
we  forget  that  we  are  with  Jesus,  and  instead 
of  leaning  on  Him  as  our  only  strength,  gird 
ourselves,  and  go  whither  we  choose,  so  is  this 
our  deepest  and  sweetest  repentance — to  return 
to  the  Lord,  who  never  leaves  us,  and  to  find 
Him  the  same  loving  Saviour,  ready  to  receive, 
us  and  to  draw  us  close  to  Himself.^ 

Often  we  think  we  are  far  from  Jesus  ;  we 

3  Rev.  iii.  20  ;  Hosea  xiii.  4-7. 


270      With  yesus.  Now  and  for  Ever. 

have  no  sense  of  His  nearness,  and  it  seems  to 
be  night.  Yet  all  the  time  we  are  with  Him. 
Our  life  is  far  deeper  than  our  consciousness — 
I  sleep,  but  my  heart  waketh* — and  when  we 
complain  that  we  cannot  discern  any  progress 
or  growth,  we  are  with  Jesus,  and  His  grace  is 
training  and  moulding  us  in  infinite  wisdom. 
There  are  divine  delays ;  the  soul  mourns  over 
the  lack  of  wine,  and  the  Master  seems  only  to 
rebuke  us  ;  but  we  are  with  Jesus,  and  He  will 
soon  manifest  His  glory,  and  gladden  us  with 
His  love.  There  are  monotonous  and  irksome 
duties,  lowly  and  commonplace  occupations,  and 
the  spirit  knows  not  at  first  that  to  be  faithful 
in  this  appointed  and  humble  path  is  the  true 
and  royal  dignity  of  God's  children.  But  we 
learn  that  here  also  we  are  with  Jesus  ;  and  we 
remember  the  thirty  years  of  His  quiet  and 
obscure  life  at  Nazareth.  He  did  not  preach 
or  show  any  miracle  ;  yet  neither  in  heaven  nor 
earth  was  ought  so  lovely  in  the  Father's  sight, 
or  so  God-glorifying,  as  He  who  was  called  the 
carpenter's  son. 

There  are  manifold  temptations.     Who  can 

enumerate  or  even   classify  them  ?      Luther's 

division  is  a  simple  one — temptations  which  are 

painful,   and    temptations  which    are   pleasing. 

*  Song  of  Sol.  V.  2. 


Wii/i  Jcstis,  N^ow  and  f 01"  Ever.      271 

When  we  experience  trouble  and  disappoint- 
ment, ingratitude  and  reproach  ;  when  our  will 
is  crossed,  and  our  cherished  expectations  frus- 
trated ;  when  we  are  prevented  from  carrying 
out  good  and  favourite  projects,  we  are  tempted 
to  impatience,  doubt,  bitterness,  despondency. 
Or  when  we  have  prosperity,  health,  the  praise 
of  men,  and  other  things  pleasant  to  the  natural 
man,  we  are  tempted  to  pride  and  subtle  self- 
conceit,  to  lukewarmness  in  prayer,  and  hard- 
ness of  heart.  There  are  sudden  temptations, 
fierce  and  vehement,  when  the  enemy  storms 
the  citadel  of  the  soul  by  an  unexpected  and 
violent  attack.  There  are  gently  insinuating 
temptations,  when  the  tempter  approaches  us 
like  a  serpent.  When  it  is  given  us  to  re- 
member that  we  are  always  with  Jesus,  then 
we  betake  ourselves  at  once  to  Him,  and  He 
gives  us  wisdom  and  strength.  This  is  Satan's 
masterpiece,  to  beguile  us  from  the  simplicity 
which  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  As  a  child  says,  "  I 
do  not  know  ;  I  must  ask  my  father.  I  cannot 
go  ;  I  must  ask  leave  of  my  father ; "  so  let  us 
always  retreat  into  Christ.  He  is  always  near, 
and  within  sight  of  the  subtle  fowler's  snare, 
and  the  roaring  lion,  we  are  "  safe  in  the  arms 
of  Jesus." 

We  are  with  yesus  in  our  daily  life.      He  is 


272       With  Jesus,  Now  and  for  Ever. 

Alpha ;  we  have  no  other  starting-point.  Be- 
cause He  loved  us,  we  love  Him  ;  because  He 
saved  us,  we  now  live  to  serve  Him.  He  is 
the  beginning  and  strength  of  all  our  outgoings 
Godwards.  We  forget  this  so  often.  We  admit 
that  apart  from  Christ  we  cannot  think  a  good 
thought,  say  one  good  word,  and  do  one  good 
act ;  but  do  we  always  pray,  as  really  believing, 
that  we  thus  depend  on  Christ  ?  And  after 
prayer  do  we  continue  in  this  dependent  atti- 
tude and  trustful  expectation  ?  We  practically 
think  we  can  live,  and  walk,  and  do  the  daily 
life-path  work  without  this  constant  drawing 
on  Christ,  or  we  fancy  we  must  continue  in  sin 
and  weakness.  When  we  remember  we  are 
with  Jesus,  when  we  behold  the  blessed  Master, 
full  of  love  and  power,  willing  to  be  unto  us 
mouth  and  wisdom,  guide  and  strength,  then  it 
is  easy  to  pray  without  ceasing,  and  to  be  of 
good  courage,  to  go  on  and  prosper.  Our  daily 
trespasses  do  not  then  discourage  us,  and  fill  us 
with  the  disappointment  of  a  wounded  vanity ; 
but  we  return  immediately,  and  with  deep 
humility,  to  the  Lord  ;  for  we  are  not  astonished 
at  the  discovery  of  our  vileness,  and  are  willing 
to  abase  ourselves  before  God,  and  to  trust  in 
His  mercy. 

And  if  Jesus  is  Alpha,  so  is  He  Omega.   We 


With  Jesus,  Now  and  for  Ever.      273 

pray  in  His  name,  we  live  in  His  name,  and  we 
desire  the  glory  of  His  name.  To  whom  should 
ascend  our  thanksgivings  but  to  Him  who  gave 
us  all,  who  wrought  all  things  in  us  ?  Who  is 
the  end,  but  He  who  is  the  beginning  ?  To 
whom  and  for  whom  are  we  to  live  and  to 
work,  but  to  Him  who  redeemed  us,  the  author 
and  finisher  of  faith  ?  Let  us  then  do  all 
things  unto  the  Lord.  To  please  Him,  and  to 
be  approved  of  Him,  is  the  only  right  aim. 
Thus  remembering  continually  the  '*  tribunal  of 
Christ,"  we  shall  do  all  things  heartily,  and 
then  Jesus  Himself  is  our  immediate  reward, 
and  we  can  look  forward  that  we  shall  not  be 
ashamed  before  Him  at  His  coming.^  Love 
makes  obedience  sweet.  The  presence  of 
Jesus,  our  divine  Lord,  will  make  our  lives  not 
only  solemn,  but  also  strong  and  vigorous.  It 
will  quicken  and  sustain  every  energy.  He  is 
with  us  who  loves  us  with  more  than  a  father's 
affection,  more  than  a  mother's  tenderness,  more 
than  a  brother's  sympathy,  more  than  a  friend's 
faithfulness,  more  than  a  bridegroom's  delight. 
This  thought  will  animate  us.  We  need  never 
be  lonely  and  faint.  In  all  the  meditations  of 
our  hearts,  in  our  intercourse  with  men,  in  our 
silent  and  secret  sorrov/s  and  strug^Mes,  in  our 

5  I  John  ii.  28. 
T 


i 


274       JVi^A  Resits,  Now  and  for  Ever. 

public  words  and  actions,  we  are  with   Jesus. 
His  presence  is  our  rest  and  strength. 

In  this  communion  with  Jesus  we  are  con- 
formed to  His  image.  We  learn  to  possess  the 
mind,  which  was  in  Him.  "O  Jesus,"  exclaims 
an  aged  servant  of  the  Lord,  "  let  thy  whole 
walk  on  earth  stand  before  my  eye,  that  I  may 
be  continually  renewed  thereby,  and  that  I  may 
be  a  savour  of  life,  filled  with  the  fruits  of  right- 
eousness, to  them  with  whom  I  live,  and  for 
whom  I  pray!"  "  Thy  whole  walk  on  earth." 
It  is  summed  up  in  one  word — love.  It  is  sym- 
bolized by  one  symbol — Lamb.  Here  we  see 
love  to  God  and  man  perfectly  united,  constantly 
blended.  Here  we  see  One,  who  was  always 
meek  and  lowly  in  heart,  who  came  to  minister 
and  lay  down  His  life.  Every  thing  in  Christ's 
earthly  life  breathes  the  spirit  of  the  Son  and 
the  spirit  of  the  Servant.  He  came  in  lowli- 
ness, and  yet  He  showed  forth  His  glory. 
Every  gospel  incident,  and  every  saying  of 
Jesus,  is  of  everlasting  importance,  and  pos- 
sesses inexhaustible  vitality.  The  Holy  Spirit 
brings  before  our  soul  Jesus,  as  He  was  on 
earth,  as  a  present  living  reality ;  Immanuel, 
God  with  us,  in  our  joys  and  sorrows,  in  our 
daily  walk  and  struggle. 

The  character  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  as  described 


IVtih  Jesus,  Now  and  for  Ever.      275 

by  the  evangelists,  surpasses  in  depth,  beauty, 
and  comprehensiveness  all  that  human  thought 
and  imagination  could  ever  reach.  It  unites 
perfectly  and  harmoniously  elements  which  are 
blended  nowhere  else.  His  innocence,  purity, 
meekness,  and  gentleness  co-exist  with  His 
burning  zeal,  unremitting  vigour,  uncompromis- 
ing severity,  and  holy  indignation.  His  love 
of  solitude  and  His  sublime  loneliness  never 
prevent  Him  from  entering  into  the  wants  and 
sorrows  of  men,  or  from  descending  to  their 
iornorance,  doubt,  and  weakness.  His  teachinp-, 
so  divine  and  yet  so  human,  is  perfectly  lucid 
and  clear,  direct  and  convincing ;  in  the  simple 
intuition  of  His  filial  spirit  He  speaks  the  words 
of  eternal  life,  in  which  all  is  truth,  transparent, 
all-sided,  eternal.  He  is  a  man  of  sorrows,  and 
acquainted  with  grief,  and  yet  He  never  pro- 
duces the  impression  of  austerity  and  morose- 
ness.  He  rejoices  in  spirit;  He  changes  water 
into  wine  at  the  marriage  feast  of  Cana ;  He 
takes  little  children  into  His  arms  and  blesses 
them  ;  He  defends  the  joy  of  His  disciples  be- 
cause the  Bridegroom  was  with  them.  We  feel 
in  His  presence,  as  in  the  presence  of  the  Son 
of  God,  holy,  solemn,  peaceful ;  of  one  who 
possesses  without  measure  the  spirit  of  joy  and 
gladness,  of  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory, 


276       Wiik  Jesus,  Now  and  for  Ever. 

of  joy  which  the  world  cannot  understand  or 
take  from  Him,  which  even  in  the  prospect  of 
the  bitter  agony  of  the  cross  and  the  darkness 
of  death  is  so  strong  and  sure  of  itself,  that  He 
can  comfort  His  disciples,  and  bequeath  to  them 
as  His  legacy,  "that  they  might  have  my  joy 
fulfilled  in  themselves." 

Jesus,  the  Son  of  God  and  Son  of  man,  must 
needs  be  above  our  comprehension  ;  the  union 
of  the  divine  and  human  surpasses  all  our 
thought.  And  yet  is  this  "  man  Christ  Jesus," 
who  is  above  all — God  blessed  for  ever — the 
most  distinct,  living,  and  bright  reality  to  us, 
divine,  infinite  Light,  Love  and  Life  wrought 
into  true  and  real  humanity !  And  the  Spirit 
of  God  keeps  this  wonderful  and  attractive 
Image  before  our  eyes.  Jesus  is  our  model, 
and  from  the  nature  of  the  case  our  only,  one 
Master.  Jesus  is  heavenly-  minded ;  as  He 
Himself  expresses,  the  Son  of  man  who  came 
from  heaven  is  in  heaven.  In  Him  we  see  that 
to  be  spiritually-minded  is  life  and  peace.  But 
in  this  stranger  and  pilgrim  on  earth  there  is 
nothing  morbid  or  ascetic;  His  spirituality  is 
so  deep  and  free,  continuous  and  joyous,  strong 
and  full,  that  there  is  no  effort,  no  unevenness, 
no  disturbance  of  His  affectionate  and  humble 
and  helpful  intercourse  with  those  around  Him. 


With  yesiis,  Now  and  for  Ever.       277 

His  obedience  to  the  Father,  His  fulfilment  of 
the  divine  law,  is  perfect.  In  every  detail  of 
life,  in  every  word  He  utters,  in  every  feature 
and  attitude.  He  is  in  the  presence  and  con- 
scious enjoyment  of  the  Father,  always  glori- 
fying and  manifesting  Him.  And  yet  there  is 
nothing  in  Him  that  savours  of  the  spirit  of 
bondage ;  He  walks  with  the  step  of  royal 
liberty.  His  life  is  full  of  light  and  rhythm.*' 

He  loves  God  and  man  ;  He  loves  His  dis- 
ciples with  a  special  love  and  tenderness,  yet 
rebuking  and  disciplining  with  holy  severity. 
He  loves  mankind,  especially  the  poor  and 
helpless,  the  sorrowful  and  contrite.  His  object 
is  always  to  heal  and  to  do  good;  He  is  the 
Light  of  the  world ;  He  came  to  bless  and  to 
save.  Whatever  man's  attitude  may  be,  He 
cannot  deny  Himself.      He  is  perfect  Love. 

^  "  Men  undertake  to  be  spiritual,  and  they  become  ascetic  ; 
or,  endeavouring  to  hold  a  liberal  view  of  the  comforts  and 
pleasures  of  society,  they  are  soon  buried  in  the  world,  and 
slaves  to  its  fashions;  or,  holding  a  scrupulous  watch  to  keep 
out  every  particular  sin,  they  become  legal,  and  fall  out  of 
liberty;  or,  charmed  with  the  noble  and  heavenly  liberty,  they 
run  to  negligence  and  irresponsible  living ;  so  the  earnest 
become  violent,  the  fervent  fanatical  and  censorious,  the  gentle 
waver,  the  firm  turn  bigots,  the  liberal  grow  lax,  the  benevolent 
ostentatious.  Poor  human  infirmity  can  hold  nothing  steady- 
Where  the  pivot  of  righteousness  is  broken,  the  scales  must 
needs  slide  off  their  balance." — Bushnell. 


278       Wii/i  yesus,  Now  and  for  Ever. 

We  are  to  be  followers  of  Christ,  continuing 
His  testimony  of  truth,  and  His  ministry  of 
love.  Sent  by  Him,  as  He  was  of  the  Father, 
we  are  to  show  forth  Christ  in  our  characters 
and  lives.  Let  us  then  be  with  Jesus,  as  an 
example  and  model.  It  is  only  when  we  know 
the  saving  power  of  His  death  and  resurrection 
that  we  can  be  followers  of  Jesus  We  need 
the  Pentecostal  light  of  the  epistles  to  gain 
a  spiritual  and  practical  understanding  of  the 
gospels  ;  for  the  exalted  and  glorified  Re- 
deemer leads  His  children  to  walk  in  the 
footsteps  He  left  behind.  When  we  walk  on 
this  narrow  but  luminous  path,  we  are  with 
Jesus. 

The  Spirit  brings  us  to  Jesus,  the  Royal 
High  Priest  in  heaven;  and  He  also  brings  us 
into  fellowship  with  the  earthly  life  and  obe- 
dience of  our  Saviour.  "As  He  is,  so  are  we 
in  this  world;"'  behold,  this  is  our  great  task, 
and  our  true  dignity. 

HI.  We  are  zuith  yesiis,  and  therefore  sepa- 
rated from  the  zuorld.  We  know  there  is  a  false 
sep:irateness  from  the  world  by  eccentricity,  in 
ambition,  in  pride,  in  Pharisaic  conceit,  in  self- 
centred  isolation.  But  the  words  of  our  Saviour, 
"  They  are  not  of  the  world,  even  as  I  am  not 

7  I  Johniv.  17. 


With  yesiis,  Now  and  for  Ever.      279 

of  the  world,"  have  so  impressed  us  with  their 
awful  solemnity  and  wondrous  love,  that  we 
look  with  suspicion  and  dread  on  everything 
that  tends  to  weaken  their  force,  and  to  make 
us  forget  that  cross  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
in  which  alone  we  are  to  glory.  Remembering 
that  our  citizenship  is  in  heaven,  we  are  sure 
that  they  over  whom  the  apostle  Paul  wept 
were  not  opposed  to  the  doctriiie  of  the  cross, 
but  they  were  enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ 
itself.  They  did  not  believe  in  the  crucified 
Saviour  with  the  heart,  with  the  will ;  they 
minded  earthly  things.  The  expression  is 
earthly,  not  sinful ;  the  contrast  is  between  this 
present  time- world  and  the  heavenly  eternity. 

Men  make  little  of  sin,  and  they  doubt  or 
deny  the  existence  of  Satan  ;  and  in  like  man- 
ner they  also  deny  the  "present  evil  world"  to 
be  opposed  to  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  But  we 
know  these  are  our  three  great  enemies,  and 
we  must  think  of  no  compromise,  of  no  armis- 
tice in  our  warfare  against  them. 

The  simple  fact  that  we  know  Jesus  separates 
us  from  the  world  ;  for  "  the  world  seeth  me  no 
more."  It  is  Christ's  peace  which  now  fills  our 
heart ;  and  if  our  joy  is  to  be  full,  it  must  be 
because  Christ's  joy  is  in  us.  The  love  of  the 
Father  cannot  be  in  us  if  we  love  the  world, 


28o       With  yesus,  Now  and  for  Ever. 

and  the  things  that  are  in  the  world.  Our 
treasure  is  in  heaven,  and  our  heart  waiteth  in 
expectation  of  the  Lord,  and  of  the  heavenly 
inheritance. 

We  do  not  forget  that  God  loved  the  world 
which  He  created,  that  the  earth  is  the  Lord's, 
and  the  fulness  thereof;  we  do  not  forget  that 
God's  saints  have  always  rejoiced  in  the  mani- 
7^  fold  works  of  their  Father,  and  adored  the 
wisdom  and  power  of  the  Creator.  We  are 
taught  that  not  merely  things  future  are  ours, 
but  also  things  present ;  that  to  those  who  are 
not  high-minded,  but  trust  in  the  living* God, 
God  giveth  richly  all  things  to  enjoy.  We 
remember  that  we  are  called  to  admire  and 
think  on  everything  that  is  honourable  and 
lovely,  to  take  a  cordial  interest  in  the  whole 
sphere  of  human  affection  and  friendship,  in- 
tellect and  energy. 

But  yet  we  are  strangers  and  pilgrims  on 
earth.  We  know  that  whosoever  drinketh  of 
the  water  which  this  world  g-iveth  shall  thirst 
again.  We  can  never  forget  the  transitory 
nature  and  subordinate  importance  of  all  earthly 
joys  and  gifts.  We  cannot  possess,  we  cannot 
desire,  that  satisfied  happiness  and  absorption 
in  the  present  things,  even  though  they  be 
sinless,  which  worldly  men  either  have  or  seek. 


With  Jesus,  Now  and  for  Ever.      281 

We  can  see  no  blessedness  in  being  rich,  or 
strong,  or  great,  in  being  anything  in  this  world. 
By  the  cross  of  Christ  we  have  been  crucified 
to  the  world,  and  the  world  to  us.  And  this 
great  separation  was  actually  effected  in  us 
when  our  heart  was  renewed,  when  our  will 
was  broken,  when  the  Spirit  drew  us  to  Jesus. 

How  can  we  ever  in  this  earthly  life  be  free 
from  this  feeling  of  sorrow,  of  longing,  when 
we  are  with  Jesus,  of  whom  it  is  written,  "  A 
man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief"? 

"A  pilgrim  through  this  lonely  world 
The  blessed  Saviour  passed  ; 
A  mourner  all  His  life  was  He, 
A  dying  Lamb  at  last. 

"  That  tender  heart  that  felt  for  all, 
For  all  its  life-blood  gave  ; 
It  found  on  earth  no  resting-place. 
Save  only  in  the  grave." 

Are  we  identified  with  Him  ?  Are  we  at  all 
like  Him  ?  Then  we  cannot  be  what  the  world 
calls  happy.  The  Lord  pronounces  them  blessed 
that  mourn. 

But  as  we  are  delivered  from  the  tumultuous 
and  eager  striving  after  happiness  in  the  present 
life,  so  we  have  now  in  God  that  peace  which 
passeth  all  understanding,  which  the  world  can 
neither  give  nor  take  away.     We  have  within 


282       With  yesus,  Now  and  foi''  Ever. 

us  the  well  of  water  springing  up  into  eternal 
life.  Instead  of  seeking  them,  we  regard  the 
pleasures  and  recreations  of  life  not  without 
misgiving ;  for  we  feel  they  are  apt  to  cloud 
our  peace,  and  to  blunt  our  enjoyment  of  the 
heavenly  blessings.  The  world  seeks  diver- 
sion ;  we  seek  to  collect  all  the  energies  of  our 
souls,  and  concentrate  them  on  the  great  object 
of  our  heart's  desire.  The  world  seeks  to  go 
out  into  wide  and  boundless  fields  ;  we  desire 
to  abide  within,  where  Jesus  sups  with  us,  and 
we  with  Him. 

If  it  is  objected  that  such  a  character  is 
melancholy,  the  answer  is,  And  what  if  it  is  ? 
Is  not  Paul's  description  of  the  Christian  ''  sor- 
rowful, yet  always  rejoicing  "  ?  ^  But  what  if  it 
be  only  thus  that  we  can  have  the  true  joy  of 
the  Lord  ?  If  only  thus,  dead  with  Christ,  the 
light  and  power  of  the  resurrection-life  gladdens 
our  heart  ?  If  only  by  this  constant  inward 
dying  and  fasting,  by  this  constant  self-restraint 
in  earthly  prosperity  and  joy,  by  this  constant 
prayer  and  humiliation  of  the  Father  -  spirit 
within  while  the  sons  and  daughters  are  feast- 
ing,^  we  can  abide  in  the  presence  of  Him  who 

®  Cheerfulness  is  quite  compatible  with  this  aspect  of  the 
Christian  character.     (Compare  Matt.  vi.  16-18,  Phil.  iv.  4,  &c.) 
5  Job  i.  5. 


Wiih  Jesus,  Now  and  for  Ever.      283 

alone  can  make  us  lie  down  in  green  pastures, 
who  anoints  the  head  with  oil,  so  that  our  cup 
runneth  over  ?  What  if  only  in  this  way  we 
can  draw  what  is  truly  good  and  precious  out 
of  the  present  life  ? 

How  can  we  ever  forget  this  truth,  when  it  is 
declared  on  every  page  of  Scripture,  and  to  be 
read  in  every  feature  of  Christ's  countenance 
and  walk  on  earth  ?  And  what  truth  has  been 
more  frequently  and  emphatically  asserted  of 
the  Saviour?  Why  did  He  put  the  cross  so 
prominently  and  almost  deterrently  before  those 
who  professed  themselves  willing  to  follow  Him  ? 
Five  times  He  utters  the  axiom  of  the  eternal 
life,  the  essential  mark  of  the  heavenly-minded. 

1.  "He  that  findeth  his  life  shall  lose  it :  and 
he  that  loseth  his  life  for  my  sake  shall  find  it."  ^ 

2.  "  For  whosoever  will  save  his  life  shall 
lose  it :  and  whosoever  will  lose  his  Hfe  for  my 
sake  shall  find  it."  ^ 

3.  "  For  whosoever  will  save  his  life  shall 
lose  it ;  but  whosoever  shall  lose  his  life  for  my 
sake  and  the  gospel's,  the  same  shall  save  it."  ^ 

4.  *'  Whosoever  shall  seek  to  save  his  life 
shall  lose  it ;  and  whosoever  shall  lose  his  life 
shall  preserve  it."  * 

'  Matt.  X.  39.  "  Matt.  xvi.  25. 

3  Mark  viii.  35.  ■*  Luke  xvii.  33. 


284       With  Jesus,  Now  ajid  for  Ever. 

5.  "  He  that  loveth  his  Hfe  shall  lose  It;  and 
he  that  hateth  his  life  in  this  world  shall  keep 
it  unto  life  eternal."^ 

It  is  evident  from  the  variety  of  expressions 
used  (and  they  are  all  full  of  meaning)  that 
this  was  a  leading,  favourite,  and  oft-repeated 
thought  of  our  Lord. 

"  Two  loves,"  said  Augustine,  "  have  made 
two  cities  :  the  love  of  self,  reaching  on  to 
the  contempt  of  God,  has  made  the  city  of  the 
world  ;  the  love  of  God,  reaching  on  to  the 
contempt  of  self,  has  made  the  heavenly  city." 

"  Something  every  heart  is  loving — 
If  not  Jesus,  none  can  rest ; 
Lord,  to  Thee  my  heart  is  given, 
Take  it,  for  it  loves  Thee  best. 

"  Thus  I  cast  the  world  behind  me, 
yesus  mast  beloved  shall  bej 
Beauteous  more  than  all  things  beauteous, 
He  alone  is  joy  to  me." 

IV.  We  are  with  Jestis ;  and  yet,  when  we 
are  most  truly  with  Jesus,  and  feel  His  presence 
and  our  oneness  with  Him,  there  arise  also 
most  vividly  the  thought  and  hope  of  His  re- 
turn, when  the  heavenly  Bridegroom  and  His 
Church  shall  meet  to  part  no  more,  when  we 

5  John  xii.  25. 


With  yestcs,  Now  and  for  Ever.      285 

shall  be  for  ever  with  the  Lord.  Spiritual 
communion  with  Jesus,  even  when  most  pre- 
cious and  sweet,  as  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  never 
can  so  satisfy  the  heart  as  to  exclude  the  desire 
of  His  return  ;  nay,  it  is  part  of  the  feast,  that 
it  contains  the  promise,  "  till  He  come."  The 
Spirit  is  our  comforter  during  the  absence  of 
our  Lord ;  He  is  not  a  substitute  for  or  instead 
of  Christ,  but  by  the  Spirit  we  are  joined  to  the 
Lord,  and  Christ  dwells  in  our  heart.  But  the 
Spirit  Himself  says  in  us,  "Come,  Lord  Jesus." 
Let  us  then  cling  to  those  simplest  and  sweetest 
words  of  the  Lord,  "  I  will  come  again."  The 
hearts  of  the  disciples  were  full  of  sadness  ;  the 
thought  of  ever  having  to  part  with  their  be- 
loved Master  had  never  been  realized  by  them, 
and  the  whole  world  seemed  dark  and  lonely  in 
the  prospect  of  His  leaving  them.  Jesus  com- 
forted them.  And  this  is  the  comfort,  that  in 
His  Father's  house  there  are  many  mansions, 
that  He  is  going  to  prepare  a  place  for  them, 
and  that  He  would  come  again  and  receive 
them  to  Himself.  As  if  He  said  unto  them, 
"  This  world  is  not  your  home ;  you  are  indeed 
strangers  here  below.  My  Father's  house  is 
the  home  of  those  who  through  me  are  the 
Father's  children.  I  leave  you  for  a  little,  and 
during  this  little  while  my  love  is  with  you,  and 


286       IViik  yesus,  Now  and  for  Ever. 

my  heart  and  hands  working  for  you  :  I  go  to 
prepare  a  place  for  you.  And  I  myself  will 
come  again,  never  to  leave  you,  but  to  receive 
you  to  myself  for  evermore."  It  is  as  when  a 
mother  says  to  her  children,  "  I  '11  soon  be  back 
again."  Who  can  misunderstand  the  words  ? 
Spiritually  He  is  never  absent;  He  is  always 
with  His  people :  His  peace.  His  love,  His 
grace.  His  power — when  have  they  ever  left 
His  children  ?  But  we  have  not  at  present  His 
personal,  actual,  bodily  presence  ;  we  do  not  see 
Him.  Christ  our  life  shall  appear,  and  then 
we  shall  be  made  manifest  with  Him  in  glory. 
Thus  the  promise  of  Jesus  was  confirmed  by 
angels  to  the  disciples,  who  gazed  with  wonder 
into  the  heavens  ;  and  all  apostolic  teaching 
directs  our  hearts  to  the  return  of  our  Lord. 

They  who  are  with  Jesus  yet  desire  to  depart 
and  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far  better.  They 
are  at  rest,  and  have  found  in  Jesus  their 
peaceful  and  eternal  home ;  and  yet  are  they 
home-sick ;  for  while  they  are  in  the  body  they 
are  absent  from  the  Lord.  Even  when  Jesus 
is  nearest,  when  He  brings  them  into  the 
banqueting-house,  their  hearts  are  gladdened 
by  the  thought — Till  He  come !  They  are 
waiting  for  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ, 
although   in    all   things    they  are  enriched   by 


With  yesics,  Now  and  for  Ever.      287 

Him,  in  whom  all  blessings  of  the  covenant 
are  theirs.  Waiting  is  the  attitude,  the  inces- 
sant heart  and  life-work  of  the  Christian.  It  is 
the  heart  that  waiteth.  It  is  there  that  the 
flame  must  be  nourished  with  the  sacred  oil, 
the  flame  which  only  the  eye  of  God  discerns ; 
it  is  there,  where  Jesus  is  Alpha  and  Omega, 
the  root  and  strength,  as  well  as  the  end  and 
object,  of  all  our  life.  The  true  waiting  for  the 
Lord,  and  going  forth  to  meet  the  Bridegroom, 
is  hidden  from  outward  observation.  It  consists 
in  our  earnest  endeavour  to  please  the  Lord,  to 
be  accepted  of  Him.''  In  consists  in  our  keeping 
ourselves  in  the  love  of  God,  while  we  look  for 
the  mercy  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  unto  eternal 
life  ;  in  our  abiding  in  the  True  Vine,  and  thus 
bringing  forth  the  true  fruit,  which  only  the 
heavenly  gardener  sees,  and  of  which  He  only 
eats.  It  consists  in  guarding  anxiously  the  door 
of  the  heart,  that  out  of  the  multitude  of  in- 
fluences seeking  entrance  there,  none  may  be 
admitted  which  would  be  displeasing  to  Him 
to  whom  we  belong,  and  who  claims  our  un- 
divided love. 

We  believe  that  our  ascended  Royal  High 
Priest  is  preparing  for  each  believer,  for  each 
child  of  God,  a  peculiar  and  individual  place. 

*  2  Cor.  V.  9  (orig.) ;  Jude  21. 


288       With  yesus,  Now  Mid  for  Ever. 

As  one  human  countenance  differs  from  another, 
as  the  glory  of  one  star  differeth  from  that 
of  another,  so  there  is  a  great  variety  and 
manifold  peculiarity  among  the  children  of  God. 
Each  has  a  name,  known  only  to  the  Lord  and 
himself,  and  the  Good  Shepherd,  who  knows 
each  sheep  by  name,  is  preparing  for  each  "a 
place."  All  are  children  and  heirs,  all  are  united 
in  the  Father's  house  ;  but  each  finds  as  he  was 
led  personally  during  the  time  of  his  earthly 
pilgrimage,  so  the  end  of  the  way  is  also  per- 
sonally adapted  to  him.  Thus  all  our  earthly 
experiences  have  an  eternal  result.  As  our 
spiritual  life  progresses  on  earth,  our  eternal 
mansion  progresses.  Jesus  fits  us  for  our  future 
abode,  and  prepares  our  future  abode  for  us. 
"  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled  ;  "  infinite  wis- 
dom and  love  is  preparing  an  inheritance  for 
you,  and  preparing  you  for  an  inheritance.  But 
let  the  heart  awake ;  let  us  be  faithful  unto 
death,  that  we  may  obtain  the  crown  of  life. 
We  are  with  Jesus.  He  is  all — the  beginning 
and  the  ending.  With  Him  all  our  hopes 
begin,  in  Him  all  our  hopes  are  crowned.  Only 
by  Him  are  we  children,  and  therefore  heirs  : 
only  grace  can  lead  to  glory.  The  end  is  most 
inseparably  connected  with  the  beginning ;  for 
this  is  the  beginning  :   He  loved  us,  and  washed 


Wiih  yesus,  Now  and  for  Ever.      289 

us  from  our  sins  in  His  own  blood.  This  is  the 
beginning :  A  poor  lost  sinner  beholds  the 
Lamb  of  God.  And  this  is  the  end  :  To  see 
and  adore  the  Lamb.  In  the  Father's  house 
we  shall  be  for  ever  with  Him  "  who  was  dead, 
and  is  alive  for  evermore."  "  I  have  a  desire 
to  depart  and  to  be  with  Christ." 

Thank  God  that  towards  eternity 

Another  step  is  won  ! 
Oh,  longing  turns  my  heart  to  Thee 

As  time  flows  slowly  on  ! 
Thou  Fountain  whence  my  life  is  born, 
Whence  those  rich  streams  of  grace  are  drawn 

That  through  my  being  run. 

I  count  the  hours,  the  days,  the  years, 

That  stretch  in  tedious  line. 
Until,  O  Life,  that  hour  appears 

When  at  Thy  touch  divine 
Whate'er  is  mortal  now  in  me 
Shall  be  consumed  for  aye  in  Thee, 

And  deathless  life  be  mine. 

So  glows  Thy  love  within  this  frame, 

That,  touched  with  keenest  fire, 
My  whole  soul  kindles  in  the  flame 

Of  one  intense  desire, 
To  be  in  Thee,  and  Thou  in  me. 
And  e'en  while  yet  on  earth  to  be 

Still  pressing  closer,  nigher  ! 

Oh,  that  I  soon  might  Thee  behold, 

1  count  the  moments  o'er  ! 
Ah  !  come,  ere  yet  my  heart  grows  cold, 

And  cannot  call  Thee  more ! 
U 


290      Wiik  Jesus,  Now  and  for  Ever. 

Come  in  Thy  glory;  for  Thy  Bride 
Hath  girt  her  for  the  holy-tide, 
And  waiteth  at  the  door. 

And  since  Thy  Spirit  sheds  abroad 

The  oil  of  grace  in  me, 
And  Thou  art  inly  near  me.  Lord, 
^  And  I  am  lost  in  Thee, 

So  shines  in  me  the  living  Light, 

And  steadfast  burns  my  lamp,  and  bright, 

To  greet  Thee  joyously. 

Come !  is  the  voice  then  of  Thy  Bride ; 

She  loudly  prays  Thee  come  ! 
With  faithful  heart  she  long  hath  cried. 

Come  quickly,  Jesus,  come ! 
Come,  O  my  Bridegroom,  Lamb  of  God  I 
Thou  knowest  I  am  Thine,  my  Lord ; 

Come  down  and  take  me  home ! 

Yet  be  the  hour  that  none  can  tell 

Left  wholly  to  Thy  choice  ; 
Although  I  know  Thou  lov'st  it  well. 

That  I  with  heart  and  voice 
Should  bid  Thee  come,  and  from  this  day 
Care  but  to  meet  Thee  on  Thy  way, 

And  at  Thy  sight  rejoice. 

I  joy  that  from  Thy  love  divine 
No  power  can  part  me  now ; 

That  I  may  dare  to  call  Thee  mine, 
My  Friend,  my  Lord,  avow ; 

That  I,  O  Prince  of  life,  shall  be 

Made  wholly  one  in  heaven  with  Thee. 
My  portion,  Lord,  art  Thou. 

And  therefore  do  my  thanks  o'erflow 
That  one  more  year  is  gone, 

And  of  this  time,  so  poor,  so  slow, 
Another  step  is  won ; 


With  Jesus,  Now  and  for  Ever.      291 

And  with  a  heart  that  may  not  wait, 
Toward  yonder  distant  golden  gate 
I  journey  gladly  on. 

And  when  the  wearied  hands  grow  weak, 

And  wearied  knees  give  way 
To  sinking  faith,  oh  quickly  speak, 

And  make  Thine  arm  my  stay ! 
That  so  my  heart  drink  in  new  strength, 
And  I  speed  on,  nor  feel  the  length 

Nor  steepness  of  the  way. 

Then  on,  my  soul,  with  fearless  faith ; 

Let  nought  thy  tenor  move. 
Nor  aught  that  earthly  pleasure  saith 

E'er  tempt  thy  steps  to  rove. 
If  slow  thy  course  seem  o'er  the  waste, 
Mount  upwards  with  the  eagle's  haste 

On  wings  of  tireless  love. 

O  Jesus,  all  my  soul  hath  flown 

Already  up  to  Thee ; 
For  Thou,  in  whom  is  love  alone. 

Hast  wholly  conquer'd  me. 
Farewell,  ye  phantoms,  day  and  year ! 
Eternity  is  round  me  here, 

Since,  Lord,  I  live  in  Thee. 

A.  H.  Franke.     1691.^ 

"  Composed  on  his  journey  to  Gotha  after  his  unjust  expulsion  from 
Erfurt,  as  we  are  told  in  the  oration  delivered  at  his  grave,  "in  the  full 
experience  of  the  unspeakable  consolations  of  the  Holy  Spirit." 


London  :  John  F.  Shaw  &^  Co.,  48,  Paternoster  Row. 


Date  Due 

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